James McMurtry’s song “Talkin’ at the Texaco” quotes the line, “It’s a small town, you know what I mean. It’s a small town, son and we all support the team.”
We’re definitely a small town, no two ways about it. Football is important as it does draw a big following every year, but there are local kids competing in track, soccer, and basketball among other activities. What I noticed right away was how the football teams all practice in the same area. The high school team practices on one field, DMS and Junior Pro hit the gridiron in the same relative vicinity. Not all towns have this arrangement but I think it’s a beneficial one. It’s great for comradery and team building.
Consider this. I attended several recent away games where the home stands were maybe a quarter full. Comparatively, DeKalb County’s sidelines have loyal attendance and that’s spectacular. The crowd was there in full force supporting our team.
That’s what we have that large towns lack, the willingness and ability to support the team, win or lose, and enjoy the experience. Although the football team isn’t ranked high in its region currently, we still have a lot of games left to be played. Having been to other programs, I notice we seem to be well-rounded, not just counting on one single player to win or lose a ballgame. We run, pass and play defense under a true team concept. When things come together, it will be awesome.
There is a tendency to want to coach from the bench. In the NFL it’s called armchair quarterbacking … kind of like back-seat driving if you ask me – always annoying. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with immersing oneself in the game and noticing when things aren’t working, but yelling that the coach is a clown from the grandstand probably isn’t the best way to express displeasure.
DeKalb County has outstanding sports fans. We have our local teams whose venue is small enough to know who’s who and call them by name – which I admit is a weakness for me. I remember coaches from a decade ago but haven’t learned everyone’s name yet now.
It’s not just sports that compose the team, it’s the people we work with every day, our friends and relatives, teachers, policemen, firemen and the many other folks who work both in front and behind the scenes to make this a place we are happy to call home.
I, for one, like that we’re a small town and definitely support the team.