‘Tis a day before football
and all through Seminole land
excitement is growing in the hearts of Indian fans
for a season that begins a new journey and quest
to be true to the colors and to be the best of the best.
To the cheerleaders, the players, the coaches and fans
and every smiling member of the
Green Machine Band,
may the season again showcase
a stellar sportsmanship presentation
and end victorious for the entire Indian nation.
And as the opposing teams depart and drive into the night
may they have a safe return home from the gridiron lights.
May they always remember a victorious scene
enjoyed by a classy bunch of Indians
displaying what it means to be Green!
This Saturday, August 22, the Seminole County Indians travel to Albany to open the 2015 high school football season with a scrimmage game against a northern bunch of Indians from Albany High. In towns near and far, bands will be marching, cheerleaders will be jumping and yelling, the teams will be fired up and parents will be anxiously watching for their son or daughter down on the field under the Friday (or in our case this week, Saturday) night lights.
And once again this season, the Donalsonville News will be there on the sidelines and in the stands to capture every play, every cheer and every musical note from the Green Machine Band, as it all combines together to create the anxiously awaited atmosphere of an evening dedicated exclusively to Seminole County High School football and all that it means to bleed green.
It’s special. It’s unique, and it is a night that is all about the kids, the ones on the field and the kids in the minds of the adults in the stands. So buckle up the chin straps, and get the music going. It’s kick-off time!
The heat of Summer will soon be melting away, and with the scenery beginning to change as leaves morph from green to the season’s reds, oranges and yellows, one of the real reasons for the season – football – arrives back in town.
Baseball may have been America’s game once upon a time, but these days, the pigskin takes the cake. The popularity of college football and the NFL are at an all-time high, and
especially in small-town America, there’s just something special about high school football.
What makes Friday night’s gridiron contests so special goes beyond all the message boards, chat rooms and statistical breakdowns and speaks more to the hopes and dreams that every player, every fan and every member of the entire Indian nation, shares. It’s about the camaraderie forged during two-a-days, and blood, sweat and tears contributed by each player and coach in the sweltering heat, and it’s about the little guy conquering the evening’s Goliath. It’s about the rewards for the hours of practice and preparations by the cheerleaders and it’s about the halftime and the Green Machine Band blasting the sounds of Indian pride into the stands filled with green-clad fans.
High school players aren’t playing for a new contract or the latest endorsement deal. Their blood, sweat and tears are all about the love of the game, and that’s what makes packed high school stadiums all over the country such special places to be.
In this community Seminole County sports are not just Friday evening events. Cheering on the future generations of the community is a year-round privilege that residents of this county take seriously, take with pride and set their schedules around. The support of the youth and their activities in this community is as it should be and at the very top of everyone’s list.
The Seminole County Indians – the players, the coaches, the cheerleaders, the band and all the fans – will welcome Saturday night the 22nd with all the glory and pageantry it deserves. Under the leadership of new and first-year head coach Wes Williams, this season begins a whole new book. New characters will emerge and new stories will be written. The first chapter begins Saturday night, and based on the history and the accomplishments of this community in the past, I am sure that the words yet to be written about the 2015 Indians will produce the perfect plot and all that is needed to again make this year’s story another best seller.
The teams this community produces are all special because the people involved and the fans supporting them are special.
Yes, on August 22nd we have a football game in Albany, but for those who bleed green in Donalsonville and Seminole County, it’s not just an out-of-town football game. It is another opportunity for the Indian Nation to get together, go green and showcase all that is good about Seminole County sports. Go Indians!
Comments and impressions are welcomed and requested at
david@donalsonvillenews.com