My experience with a loose team vs a tight team.

Dec 29, 2017, 1:28 PM

You may have guessed that this was going to be a lame analogy about female genitalia but instead it's all about Georgia high school football rivalries.

My junior year, I remembered we traveled to the adjacent town to play our hated rivals. When I say "hated" rival, I mean it. Only Clemson-SC and Alabama-Auburn compare in terms of vitriol. Vandalism, fighting, personal rumors, it was nasty.

These were two rural, AA southern Georgia schools that shared a city line. One was the County Seat, the other was the bigger "city" with more places to shop and eat.

My High School was smaller, further out in the country but we were riding a 6-game winning streak in the rivalry. (A former Clemson great was a part of this streak before I became involved.) We traveled to their bigger stadium and they were undefeated (4-0), we were 3-1 and had been shocked by a lesser division opponent a couple of weeks before. They were confident that their new coach and their recruited players were going to beat us. They were very very SERIOUS before the game.

The moment that I will never forget, for the rest of my life, was the faces of the players when we left the locker room and ran out on the field. Before we could run out onto the field, my team had to wait on our rivals because both paths to the field from the locker rooms intersected. I remember seeing how every single player on the opposing team looked angry. They were dead silent and looked very focused on beating us. Every single one of them was stone-faced and serious. I was actually impressed, until I looked at our guys. And that's the part I'll never forget.

They were smiling and laughing hysterically. They were acting like the joker from Batman. They looked like sickos who were ecstatic that they were about to be allowed to hurt other people. Teeth were showing, high pitched noises were emanating, it was something I've never seen before or since.

Needless to say, the opposing players faces changed from the time they first saw us to the time that they finally made it past us. They looked more confused... as if they were thinking "What the eff did I just witness?"

Then, when it was our turn to run out on the field, it was the closest thing to the real rebel yell I have ever heard in my live. A hoard of disturbed young men made their way out on the field. Laughing... screaming... grinning.

We won 54-7

I'll take loose over tight.