Ready for some football

I screwed up this year.  I only made it to two high school football games.  One small town game and one big town game.  Early in the season, Danny and I drove out to Guthrie Center to watch the Tigers play.  Last night, Alice and I drove to the UNIDOME to watch another Tiger team play.  Both teams won, but on very different fields.
The Guthrie Center Tigers are a Class A team with 37 players.  Danny and I watched them win against Riverside.  It was a great game played with a lot of heart.  The GC Tigers ended up with a 2 - 7 record.  But there was that Friday Night Football feeling out in the stands.  The parents, bundled under blankets, the kids running amuck around the stands, the cheerleaders clapping and stomping their way to team spirit.  The student section full of oddly dressed, face painted kids. 
The West Des Moines Valley Tigers are a Class 4A team with 81 players.  I went to the semifinals at the UNIDome with my friend, Alice.  It was a great match up with Ankeny, but the game was not nearly as exciting as I hoped.  I suppose the two teams were pretty evenly matched and Valley made a few too many mistakes for me.  But Valley won and will play in the championship game next Friday.  Their current record is 13-0. 
A typical Valley home game finds you in a beautiful state of the art stadium.  It feels like a college stadium and that's ok.  A lot of people think it is silly, but it is built and that's that.  Besides, the only real difference between the GC Tigers game and a Valley Tigers game is the size.  There are more chilly parents, more kids, more cheerleaders and a lot more students. 
But football is football.  It is well padded boys/men trying to get a ball across a thick white line.  It is how, and how often, that they get the ball there that matters.  I don't care if I am watching pee wee or pros.  The love of the game keeps me coming back for more.  And there lies my problem, I have not watched enough football this year.  I waited too long and my physce has paid dearly for it.  There is no other place that I can eat a walking taco while wrapped in a fleece blanket under bright lights.  All while watching the game.  Where else can I mutter "getem! getem! getem!"  under my breath?  Followed by "son of a bitch!" when he doesn't. 
Next year, I will be in the Tiger stands.  Either Tiger.  Small town, big town, it doesn't matter as long as it is Friday night under the lights.