Above audio recorded using—

• Microphone: Deity S-Mic 2
• Audio Interface: AudioSigma MicHero DSP
• Hardware: Apple iPad Pro 11” M4
• Software: Twisted Wave for iOS
• Additional Software Treatment via MacBook Air 13” M2: AU HiPass, LoudMax, iZotope RX11 Mouth De-Click, AU GraphicEQ

Recorded in my Home Studio

Texas high school football is a unique obsession. I mentioned in a previous post that I did PA for a high school football game earlier this season, and I’ve also had the occasion to run the scoreboard for a local high school several times, including this past Friday. It is also no secret that I have been a sports fan literally all of my life. I remember my first high school football game: Arlington Lamar vs Irving MacArthur, Fall 1973 at UT-Arlington’s old Memorial Stadium. It was Lamar’s Homecoming. I sat on the home side with my siblings, I was fascinated by the gold helmets on one side versus the red helmets on the other, (my uniform obsession needs to be addressed in a future post sometime) and I vaguely remember repeating most of what the PA announcer said to a random kid sitting near me. Apparently the seeds of my VO career were firmly planted in me at a young age. It was the first of many HS games in my life. I attended games with my older siblings throughout elementary and junior high school, then every game as a band member in high school. There were playoff games I attended after I had graduated, along with a few games at which the UTA Marching Band performed exhibitions. Then, of course, I attended games as a high school teacher, and I also worked PA for high school football for another 15 years, including 12 years as The Voice of Vernon Newsom Stadium in Mansfield. That dozen years had me on the mic for every game, whether Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, including as many as 5 weeks of playoff games. We even hosted the State Championships for UIL Conference 1A and 2A in 2010. I would estimate that over the course of my life, I have attended at least 300 high school football games – perhaps as many as 500. I used to love high school football fiercely, especially late-season and playoff games. Favorite high school football memories: 1) LD Bell vs Trinity at Texas Stadium to conclude the 1982 regular season. I sat in the pressbox with my sister, who worked for the local paper, helping her keep stats. 2) DeSoto vs Cedar Hill at Newsom Stadium in December of 2006, where I was on the mic doing PA. Both of those games featured packed houses – Texas Stadium’s lower bowl was full in 1982, and Newsom Stadium overflowed in 2006. At that 2006 game, I even got to call Von Miller’s name all afternoon because he was involved in so many tackles. (Yes, THAT Von Miller, MVP of Super Bowl 50.) Today, I think I still like the activity, but I’m not sure I love it anymore, and it’s not just because I’m old or otherwise burned out.

The question I pose is this: Is Texas high school football – “Friday Night Lights,” as people like to call it, thanks to the brilliance of H.G. Bissinger – really that great of an experience? Or is it overrated? Maybe it’s vague and indecisive to say so, but my answer is officially “Yes, And No.” There are some things about it that I still very much enjoy. There are other things that I personally find a beat-down of the highest order. Away we go with good and bad…

The Good:

• The Two-Sided Stadium. In college and the pros, the stadium is mostly filled with home fans, with a smattering of visiting fans scattered about or shoved into one section. (The main exception is Texas-OU at the Cotton Bowl, which is a fantastic atmosphere that basically proves my point.) High school has home on one side and visitor on the other, and the back-and-forth energy of that setting can be mesmerizing, especially as the weather gets colder and the games get bigger. Those specific games I mentioned earlier were really magical in part because of the two-sided stadium. It’s amazing to hear the roar on one side contrasting with the silence of the other, based on what’s happening on the field.
• The Alma Maters (or if you prefer, School Songs). Before the game, it can be a pretty cool moment. Heck, I can still sing my own high school alma mater. It doesn’t make me cry or anything, but I do enjoy it. After the game – especially a close, hard-fought game, it’s often a poignant experience. One side is elated as they hear it, the other is disappointed. Again, this experience takes on more meaning later in the season. During the playoffs, some of these kids know it will be the last time they stand with their teammates for this moment, and there’s a lot of emotion. And that is the absolute best, because that connection between teammates matters more than the scoreboard at the end of literally any and every high school football game.
• The Run-Throughs. I grew up seeing the paper signs the cheerleaders would spend all week making, and those were awesome. These days, team will have big reusable vinyl signs with velcro down the center, and many schools just have a giant inflatable tunnel and/or sculpture for the team. Those are also awesome, even when they look awkward. (You could ask me about “Deuce the Jaguar” sometime, but you might not want to read the full story in print on that one.) A good run-through, whether a sign or an inflatable, sets the tone for a high school game perfectly.
• Fight Songs. THE. BEST. I don’t care whose fight song it is. I kind of like them all, and I absolutely love many of them. You simply cannot beat a good fight song. “But do they have to play the fight song so much?” YES. Yes, they do. Why would you even ask that? If the band is playing the fight song a lot, it usually means good things are happening on the field. But even if it doesn’t, who cares? Full Disclosure: Arlington High School was our bitter rival when I was in high school, but I absolutely love the AHS Fight Song, maybe even more than my high school’s. You cannot beat a good fight song, and it’s impossible to beat one into the ground by playing it too much. If you hate fight songs, I’m not sure we can be friends.
• Drum Cadences. Another of The Best. Call Fight Songs 1A and Cadences 1B. College bands often play cadences in the stands and to march on and off the field, but there’s something unique about the high school drum cadence that’s played while action is taking place on the field. Add the dancing and other visual things the band does during the cadence, and it becomes a thing of beauty. Perhaps somewhere there’s an Arlington Lamar High School alum reading this who knows exactly what I’m talking about when I mention “The Guillotine” during “Mountain.” Literally, IYKYK. And if you don’t, you missed out. Some bands even bring the drumline down to the sidelines during the 3rd quarter so the cheerleaders and spirit group can jam out with them. Here, here. Rock on, man.
• Spirit Songs. No, not the Fight Song, and not “Stand Tunes.” (We’ll talk Stand Tunes later on.) I’m talking about ultra-short songs that the band plays in the stands which are specifically designed to get the crowd and the team energized. “Go Big Blue.” (Or whatever color you prefer.) “Eat ‘Em Up.” (!!!) We used to have a straight, swing, and polka version of Eat ‘Em Up when I was in high school, and it was glorious. Some schools play the William Tell Overture. Duncanville High School traditionally opens every game with “The Planet Krypton” fanfare from John Williams’ score to the 1978 film Superman, and it is amazing. Mansfield High’s band plays “Eye of the Tiger” at the kickoff of every game. I find Survivor’s original to be one of the worst songs of the 80s, but as a spirit song on a Friday night, it works. More Spirit Songs, please.
• Halftime. I’m not going to go into detail here, because I’ve already discussed how awesome marching band, and band in general, are in three different posts. Feel free to check them out. Bottom line is that band is awesome, and so is halftime.
• Friendly Visits by the Band and Drill Team. One of the best traditions at any high school football game happens when the home drum majors and drill team officers head to the visitors’ side during the second half, introduce themselves, and greet the visiting band and drill team. Then they escort the visiting drum majors and officers to the home side, where they introduce them to the home band and drill team. It’s always a lovely moment of camaraderie among performers across school boundaries.

The Bad:

• Halftime. “Whaaat? Didn’t you just list Halftime as part of The Good?” I did, indeed. And it IS good. But it’s also bad. As great as marching band is, the actual football halftime itself is kind of a beating, especially in the month of October, when every band tries to perform their entire contest show. The bottom line is that 28 minutes for a football halftime is, at once, too long to be appropriate for the middle of a sporting event, and still too short for all the stuff that gets crammed into that time. I recently saw a school put up a 2-minute hype video for the drill team, then the drill team did their “march-on” routine, then they introduced every single officer and spirit girl and special girl and on and on, then they finally had the actual drill team performance. Then the band performed their full contest show, props, electronics, and all. And then they did it all again for the other school! I’ve heard people insist that high school halftimes have taken 40 minutes or longer, and while I can assure you that doesn’t actually happen, it sure can feel that way. And yet, for the performers it nearly always feels rushed, especially when the teams emerge from the locker rooms and begin warming up while the show’s still happening. That’s why some band directors, when in the throes of serious contest season, will have the band perform post-game, where they can focus strictly on their own competition show free of distractions and have more control of the performance environment. It’s a smart play, allowing the fans attending for football to focus on it, and the parents attending to watch the band to focus on it. While it makes for a late night for the band, the ability to dedicate the post-game environment solely to their own performance can be beneficial.
• Homecoming. When you’re in school and are sweet on someone, homecoming is a lovely date night, even if you’re in the band and have to go home, shower, and change before you head out to eat dinner at 10:30pm or later. You’re in high school; enjoy it! But for just about everyone else (also some students, including my own children) “HoCo” (I despise that abbreviation, BTW) is a beating. Technically, “homecoming” is supposed to be when alumni “come home,”but it’s often unlikely any meaningful sampling of alumni actually shows up. Maybe a class celebrating a specific reunion. No, homecoming as it exists now is mainly little more than a celebration of the popular kids. Sure, some schools will occasionally crown a special needs student as king or queen, but statistically speaking, the same students who have been popular since, like, second grade are the ones who get to be part of the “court.” And we tell the world who their parents are, what their favorite memory is, where they’re headed next, yada yada yada. “And please welcome last year’s homecoming king and queen” (who you won’t remember) to crown this year’s. Please just jab a fork in my eye. I do have one favorite homecoming memory from my years doing PA: One school sent their own announcer to the booth for the ceremony. This guy made an error, saying “Your Homecoming Queen is…” before reading the boy’s name. Then he said “And your Homecoming Queen is…” and read the girl’s name. He didn’t even realize it, but all of us in the pressbox did. Two homecoming queens, well before that might even be considered a “thing.” The game staff joked about how progressive that was, but I still wonder if that Homecoming King’s parents heard the gaffe and got upset.
• Stand Tunes. I did say we’d talk about this one later, and I’ve railed about it before. There’s nothing wrong with a decent arrangement of a song for the stands. But do they have to be all the same? Seriously – Rock and Roll, Part 2 (aka “The ‘Hey’ Song,” aka “The Only Song We Know”), Seven Nation Army, and Pretty Fly – remove them from the face of the earth, and half the bands in America would have nothing left to play. Does every band have to play these? Do something different. Give me some Bruno Mars, Chappell Roan, or even Taylor Swift. Heck, throw it back to Earth, Wind, & Fire or The Gap Band. That one Cameo song that a few bands play? Bring it. Just stop playing the same stuff everybody else plays. Surely there are other good arrangements of other energizing songs. Or…break out a specific spirit song, like I mentioned earlier.
• Disengaged and/or Nasty Fans. I realize that there are many fans in the stands who are A) parents of the players; B) parents of one of the performing students, like band, drill team, cheer, etc.; C) faculty and staff there to support their students; D) friends and family of someone involved in the game and surrounding activities; E) students standing (all game) in the student section because they want to support the team F) other actual fans of the team, whether community members, alumni, whatever. And as long as they support their team, bring it on. I humbly submit that these attendees are too often in the minority at your typical Friday football game. The majority are the types I cannot stand, including G) fans who are constantly yelling at the coaches, officials, or both; H) students and adults who talk trash to opposing players and/or coaches; I) students who attend the game not to watch but to be seen. Your proverbial mileage may vary, depending on the school. My observations have generally been that it varies based on how small-town or suburban the school is. The more small-town your school, the more engaged the fans. The more suburban the school, the more likely you are to see disengaged fans, especially students who are at the game purely as a social event, with no interest in what’s actually happening on the field. And nasty fans who think it’s acceptable to talk sh** to teenagers and/or underpaid coaches and officials need to go live under a bridge like the veritable trolls that they are.
• The “Friday Night Lights” Moniker. Here’s another one that might have you asking “Whaaaaaatttt?!?!?” But honestly, in spite of the fact that H.G. Bissinger’s book is a terrific read, and the movie adaptation with Billy Bob Thornton is excellent, and even the TV show with Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler is remembered fondly, the term itself is just…tired. It’s simply High School Football, and it’s often not played on Friday. Do you really want to refer to “Thursday Night Lights?” I even heard a local news anchor refer to a junior high football game by saying “We were at Wednesday Night Lights last night,” and it was one of the absolute dumbest phrases I’ve heard a news anchor utter, and that’s saying something.

If you’re keeping score (and since it’s about high school football, you probably should be), you may notice that I have 8 things listed under The Good and only 5 things listed under The Bad. But the word count is 901 for The Good and 1,155 for The Bad. So clearly, I like more things about High School Football than I dislike, but I have over 250 more words to say about what I dislike. And that, friends, is why my answer to the question, “Is Texas high school football…really that great of an experience?” is a clear “Yes, And No.” Yes, High School Football has some great features. But No, High School Football isn’t a perfect experience, and can we please stop beating the term “Friday Night Lights” into the ground? They’re playing college games on Friday nights, too. Either way, the next time you attend a high school football game, cheer for your team, try your best to soak in everything you enjoy about the experience, ignore what you don’t like, and fight your way through any disinterested or dysfunctional fans on your way home. Make sure the time you spend there is time well-spent.