High school football rant

I went to a high school football game last night. A late friend coached the freshman football team and the coaches wanted to make the night a bit of a memorial for him. It was well done though funny. But before I get into that I must comment on a story in today's paper.

JSOnline> 10 County Board members will match furloughed workers' sacrifice

Whatever the motive, at least 10 of the 19 Milwaukee County supervisors say
they are returning four days' pay to the county - or donating to a favorite
nonprofit - to match the sacrifice the County Board and County Executive Scott
Walker imposed on most non-elected county employees.
(emphasis mine)

Don't get me wrong on this one. I think it is a great idea that the County Supervisors will give back and feel the same crunch that county workers that are being forced to take furlough days- another great idea when there is no money. However they should not be giving that money to charity. Isn't really the county taxpayer's money? Your intent is to be just like the worker. They are not getting paid so you shouldn't. The option to give it to charity is like giving away the taxpayer's money, something these supervisors are way too good at doing in the first place. Let the county keep the money. Let us keep our money.

Oh, and those supervisors that said " County Board members already have sacrificed by not getting any pay raises since 2000 and by working a job that pays less than what they could earn elsewhere.", please GO ELSEWHERE! Don't try to pass off some sob story about not getting a pay raise. Your performance doesn't merit a raise. Hell, if you don't want the 50k a year, then don't run for office. We have people that can probably do a much better job than you. People that run their own homes within a budget. Try staying in your budget before crying for a raise.

Wow. I feel better.

So I am at this high school football game last night. Because we are there to honor a friend (we still miss you Randy), we are sitting in the parents section by some of the coaches wives (I believe). One of the first things they say before the game is a little speech about sportsmanship, about not using profane, abusive, racial, sarastic, mocking speech of any kind. Basically sit down and shut up. We will let you know when you can cheer.

As they line up for the kick, I can't help but think some of these kids are rather small. I take notice of one kid on the end close to us. #34. He looks scrawy, but apparently he is fast. He flys down the field on the kickoff, trailing the play as the returner goes away from him. Suddenly out of nowhere a blocker flattens him. I laugh a bit but stop after realizing I don't know who is around me. For all I know his parents could be behind me.

#34 is also a cornerback. A corner that consistently plays 8 yards off the ball. I was a bit shocked at this. His guy was usually open unless the ball was underthrown. That his how he got his interception.

I also noticed that #34 didn't like to hit. He wasn't a good tackler. Much more of a grabber. He didn't like to jump into the fray and stop anyone. He seemed more content to be away from the run just trying to cover his man.

We left the game at halftime. I didn't smuggle a flask in or drink before the game so I was feeling dry. That and the knuckleheaded know-it-all behind me was driving me nuts. He had to have a comment before every play. EVERY EFFIN' PLAY! The majority of it was total nonsense. The team couldn't pass the ball for shit but he kept calling for the coach to throw the ball. "Keep them honest!" he would say. Why? #47 is chewing them up on the ground. He was rarely stopped for no gain and appeared to be averaging 5 yards a carry. The fullback wasn't too impressive but was a good option when they focused on #47. "You make the kids run patterns in practice, why not use them!" Did I mention they couldn't throw for shit? With the wind picking up as well, you don't want to throw the ball. "You say you have a fake punt in the play book, why not use it" Because you have a play in the book doesn't mean you have use in the season. Its not like it expires never to be used again.

Worse yet was the guy was a whiner. The team was up by 17 and he was making comments about how they have blown leads before. He kept calculating how the other team could win. I wanted to tell him to stuff a sock in it so bad. For a guy who talked a lot, he sure didn't understand the game of football.