Rod Johnson's High School Football Thoughts

Even on vacation, Rod Johnson can help out "The Sports Buffet Podcast". He penned this from the Outer Banks.

I'm lucky enough to be writing this blog from a deck at a beach house in the Outer Banks as I'm taking a long weekend vacation before the madness of the football season kicks into full gear and, during times like these, one comes to realize how much enjoyment one can get from the simple things in life -- family, food, nice weather, a walk on the beach and a backyard swimming pool (okay, perhaps that last one is a luxury item, but the point remains).

I bring that attitude to this blog entry because, I think, with the season kicking off in just over a week, it may be time to remind ourselves of the simple things that we can enjoy about the football season -- seeing the lights over neighborhood treelines on a Friday night, watching a future college or pro star play a game with his childhood friends probably for the last time, and catching a glimpse of a player who won't play at the next level reach his athletic peak with a touchdown that he will exaggerate about to his grandchildren.

Make no mistake about the fact that high school football is no longer a pure game. The amount of coverage from TV, radio, newspapers and Internet (including Virginia Preps.com, where I am the state editor) is insane relative to the fact that most of the players being covered are 15-, 16- and 17-year old kids who are still learning how to drive, ask out a girl and understand who they are and the adult that they will become down the road.

Arguments on message boards abound about high school football much the same way that fans argue about their pro and college teams. Rankings of teams and players are debated (sometimes hotly) as interest in and the business of covering high school football continues to grow.

Yet, as I sit here enjoying a simple weekend, I wonder why that attitude can't carry over into the season. Why can't we spend our Fall worried more about players who, for the most part, are enjoying the peak of their athletic careers. Sure, the select few are going to go on to bigger and better things, but years from now, do you want to remember where a player was ranked and who was ranked ahead or behind him? I know I don't.

I'd rather remember Percy Harvin not as the #1 ranked player in the nation but rather as the player who made my jaw drop in amazement almost every time that I saw him but none moreso than the 2004 state championship game where he singlehandedly carried his team to his school's first state championship.

I want to remember Phillip Sims for his outstanding performances in the state playoff games not for the arguments had about whether he should be ranked ahead of or behind Justin Hunter. I care about those rankings now but ultimately all that matters in the end is what happens on the field of play, so let's focus on the purity of that.

The real football season starts soon, let's enjoy the players and their play on the gridiron. That's what brought us all together to being with anyway.

Check out more from Rod, at the source for High School Sports, Virginia Preps.com