Descriptive Football Essay

While searching through the round, grey tables and plastic, purple chairs, we came up on the football player, Ethan Jerkowski. Abby and I, McKenzie, inquired him about his favorite things about the new school; without a thought, he responded, “The football coaches.” Continuing the questionnaire, we pursued further by asking him why. “I like that they actually care about us, and that they want us to get better as a team and as an individual.”

“Sunny and 75 with bright blue skies today is a great way to start off the college football season”, says a sports analyst on the tv from a tent in the tailgating section. Walking down the strip peeking through the trees seeing a glimpse of the arena reminded me of a modernized colosseum. Approaching the main entrance greeted by a metal statue and a stadium with a dark shade of brick with countless of doors and glass windows. Many Lovie Smith propaganda is seen around the stadium along with the array of Illinois gear. “Welcome to Memorial stadium, it’s game day for your Fighting Illini”, said the announcer. My stomach dropped for the fact that college football is officially back.

To the majority of America, Auburn University Football is just a sport. To the thousands of Auburn Tigers fans worldwide, it is so much more than that. Tim Stanfield describes it as “…more than a game…it’s a passion” (Stanfield et al. 61). The culture surrounding Auburn Tigers football is a family and tight-knit community. As Pat Dye, past coach of the Auburn Tigers puts it, “We are close here, and that is part of what it means to be a Tiger” (Glier xii). There are generations of Tigers fans, “family” traditions, and the support and encouragement of a family behind every Tiger out there playing. To be a

Walking out onto the opponent’s brightly lit turf field setting up for the kickoff of the second half just gave me the feeling that everybody knows, my hair starts to stand up, butterflies began to flutter in my stomach, and everything seems to slow down. Looking into the stands and seeing that our hometown fans had traveled four hours in order to outdo the home crowd gave me a sense of comfort. Looking into East Jefferson’s stands and seeing that our fans, despite having to travel all the way down south, outnumbered their fans by at least 70 people. I found myself thinking that this meant just as much to our town as it did to our school and team. This feeling would be just the motivation we needed in order to finish this game

In the middle of June I’ll find myself on the football field drenched in sweat, hoping to make a “2-Peat”. I’ll be embraced by all the coaches and fellow players, we’ll all be like one big happy family. On game days the stands will be packed full of screaming fans, all confident that Monroe will win the game. After the win, the opposing team will leave with their heads held high, because we’re only good athletes, we don’t compare to the well rounded student-athletes at their school.

The University of Nevada Reno’s Football program officially started fifty years ago in the October of 1966. At the same time the team was established, Mackay stadium was built which seated only 7,500 people at the time. After numerous amounts of renovations, the stadium now seats 26,000 people and the football games are very loud and exciting. Being a football player and student myself, I get to hear what other people outside the football program perceive of us as around campus when we win, lose, or just in general about the football program. Most comments and accusations I have heard have been false and negatively based. What most people do not see is the hardwork and dedication it takes to be apart of the football program and the impact it has on the coaching staff, the community, and also, the inseparable bond it creates between the players.

Sports are a large part of America’s culture as well as Odessa’s. In Friday Night Lights, the players spend their entire lives training to be successful because sports are all they have to look forward to. During the final game of the season to make it to state, Ronnie Beavers told his team, “This is the last minute of your life” (326). Beavers quote shows the importance of the moment. If Permian does not win the game, they have nothing to look forward to in their future. This semi-final game is “much more than a game” for Permian. What Beaver is saying is ridiculous, the Permian players act like Football will determine their future. By following the players and the town, Bissinger is able to show readers how important sports are in Odessa. Bissinger notes how it was “obvious” that the students of Permian hold the town on their shoulders (XIV). By following the story of the American small town, including many personal anecdotes, Bissinger shows the effect that sports have in Odessa. Friday Night Lights supports Lapham’s claim that games represent much more than a game. It is not merely a game but a way of life. Permian players eat, breathe, and live football. Their lives are centralized around one thing: Football. Bissinger describes the town when he states, “If you went to their homes, you might find black toilet seats, or black seat cushions, or black phone book covers, or black paper plates, or black clocks, or black felt on their pool tables” (39). Bissinger throughout the book displays how the town revolves around sports. Everything that Odessa does is centered around the football team. The players train everyday to work to improving their record and that is all that matters to

Sustaining the ambitions of not only themselves but the alumni and town of Odessa, Texas is a lot to ask from a young adult. That’s exactly what Permian football provides to the people of Odessa, where the post economic boom of the oil business has left the town in a racially tense, economic crisis. The lights on Permian High School’s football field are the only sanctuary for the west Texas town. Socially and racially divided, Odessa’s mass dependence on high school football constructs glorified expectations for the football team to temporarily disguise the disappointments that come with living in a town tagged as the “murder capital” of

The heat bears down on me, as I feel my skin burning in the hot summer sun. Dust and dirt floats around the air and a thin layer of grime covers my entire body. Sweat drips around my goggles while adrenaline fills my body and my heart races. In the middle of nowhere in Virginia, I feel at home, I feel the turf under my cleats and the cool metal of the stick in my hands. As the timer ticks down, the buzzer rings, and the game begins. I look to my left and see my dad sitting on the sideline, ready to cheer as loud as possible. To my right I find my teammates, the most loyal group of friends I have, ecstatic about the potential of winning.

While working hard is an important factor in being successful in every sport, it is especially prudent in football. The hype behind the sport causes athletes and communities to love the sport. No other sport has a week like homecoming, football players are put on a pedestal and academics are essentially put on hold due to the lack of focus. The entire week focuses on Friday night’s game. This hype draws the biggest and best athletes to want to be a part of the fun—to be on that pedestal. This in turn makes the competition within the sport better. Being on the team isn’t enough though, as my head coach used to say, “Homecoming is fun, but it’s worth nothing if you lose Friday night.” Knowing the entire week is dedicated to one game causes the team to work harder than the athletes in other sports. The standard expected by the coaches carries over to the classroom and into the athlete’s lives outside of high school. Kevin Kniffin, a behavioral scientist as Cornell University, studies and teaches about the leadership skills and character traits of athletes from

Sports are a significant part of society and spectators enjoy particular events regardless of the type. However, there are many players who develop special working and social relationships with whom they are participating regardless of the type of sport. The relationship and how people interact with one another can be the determination of how successful a team can be. The particular film based on a true story that I chose is titled When the Game Stands Tall. This film consists of a high performing football team of De La Salle High School in the state of California. Jim Caviezel portrays the head coach (Bob Ladouceur) as a man with such vision and passion that goes beyond the fundamental principles of coaching the game of football. The football team had won 151 games without being defeated which is the highest winning record a team has had in the game of football. The film shows the internal struggles of the players in their lives as people, and how they perform on the field. It also shows the external tragic difficulties that they face while they attend and play for De Le Salle High School. In the movie, the head coach helps the students/players by not only coaching them but also showing them how to live a flourishing life by committing to endure difficult life situations and the way to overcome them. He helps teach the principles of brotherhood and companionship with the team that they build. In the movie, the head coach and the staff had taught the players

The anticipation as I stand in the concrete tunnel under the bleachers is my life’s biggest moment of uncertainty. Will the crowd stand on their feet in a standing ovation, or will the crowd deem me as mediocre? As I look to my left and right, my teammates’ faces assure me that their nervous excitement is identical to mine. When I hear the announcer on the loudspeaker and hear the students’ shouts, I know it is time to walk on the sharp green blades on the field under the shining Friday night lights.

“A loud and spirited crowd has the potential to alter the result of a game” (Benavidez). Almost every sport’s fan in the world would agree. A large crowd is one thing, but a large crowd who is passionately cheering on their team plays a crucial role in sporting events. When asked the question on how school spirit affects his team’s performance, Seth Mcgowen responded, “It increases the morale of the player. When we see there’s a big crowd there cheering us on, we feel like we have to do better so that we don’t let them down. If they’re shouting my name and cheering for me personally, it makes me step up my performance and do something great.” Key words in Mcgowen’s response are “cheering us on” (Benavidez). Mcgowen said an enormous crowd is not what encourages the team, but an enormous crowd that cheers does. Former Tupelo High School basketball coach Jerry Lee Clayton preached the importance of having school spirit and used to tell his players, “A school without spirit is nothing, but a school with spirit has the power to do miraculous things.” Athletes want school spirit from their town and school because they have the chance to feel an emotional connection with the fans. What team wants to compete for a school that does not support them, but all teams want to compete for a school that gives them full support. School spirit has the power to affect a team’s performance, and that is a benefit almost everyone can

Within sports, pressure is always there; you have to learn to deal with it. H. G. Bissinger’s book, Friday Night Lights, hones in on the football team the Permian Panthers of Odessa. Through this focus on the team, one can see how football is an integral part of the town thriving, maintaining its hopes and dreams. Despite the racial and social divide within the community, those Friday night games become a place where dreams may be made possible. In this way, sports, specifically football, not only have an impact on the players but the community as well.

About three weeks ago, the Packer Varsity baseball team beat Berkeley Carroll school for the first time in twelve years and in glorious fashion. Tears streamed down my face as our winning run crossed the plate in extra innings, dust flying up as my teammates and I mobbed each other at the plate. Yet a few short days later, our team was blindsided by the news that St. Ann’s had pulled off back to back upsets to squeak their way into the playoffs ahead of us - just as our season seemed to be looking up, it was over.