Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
High School Ball
If you are in Texas on a Friday night from September to November, you should absolutely
attend a high-school football game. HG Bissinger's book about Odessa,
Friday Night
Lights
, and the subsequent movie and TV series, nail it. Texas high-school ball takes on
mythic proportions and meanings, especially in small towns. At stake in games are local
pride, reputations and other intangibles that fuel the mania. The team's quarterback is the
local hero, every bit as popular as a mayor when things are going well.
Increasingly, 16- to 19-year-olds are expected to be facsimiles of the pros. Roughly
48,000 fans attended the Texas State High School Championships in 2012, held in the Dal-
las Cowboys' Stadium. This author knows a certain eight-year-old who follows each state
high school play-off game and can recite all the stats. Following local teams is not hard to
do given the numerous websites on the subject. Many games are now also televised.
How seriously games are taken can be seen by the trappings that surround them.
Coaches are not as well paid here as in the pros, but they definitely do better than regular
teachers. Then there are legions of students supporting the team's effort: assistants and
trainers; varsity cheerleaders who ascend to the squad through competitions as ruthless as
those on the field; vast marching bands; dancing and drill teams; honor guards for the flags;
and many more. That's not to mention the enthusiastic parents who cheer, scream and raise
more and more money.
OH, THERE ARE OTHER SPORTS IN TEXAS?
Contrary to how it may seem, Texas has all the same sports available as any other state. Soccer is quite a common
activity for young boys and girls first taking to a field. Softball, baseball and basketball are all played in intramural
and school leagues.
On the national level, Dallas' Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros baseball teams have nice stadiums and
draw some crowds. The Dallas Stars hockey team, draws less of a crowd, but there's still some turn out.
Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, pro National Basketball Association (NBA) teams, hold their own in
terms of attendance and fan base. But Texans really go crazy for the San Antonio Spurs - a basketball team that has
won four NBA championships, giving them a perfect record unmatched by any team except for the Chicago Bulls,
proving there is more to Texas sports than football.
