bands and braids

Waking in Hampton Inn, Tallahassee after eight hours’ sleep and a football game last night sitting next to Lincoln High School marching band, 

watching C1 with flute, 

watching C2 sitting in front of me and getting hair braided by a middle school classmate friend whose sister also plays in the band, 

and also watching a super game filled with penalties, at least one poor sportsmanship penalty for each side, dead ball callings, seeing one player stupidly slug an opponent after tackling him (referee caught it too), watching a safety and its two points, watching a fourth down forty yard field goal kick for three points, watching a good and promising quarterback play three quarters then yield to his backup in the fourth quarter when the score was, like, forty to fourteen. Final score, Lincoln 47, Chiles 21. 

Last season we watched Lincoln beat Leon, last night’s game against Chiles seemed unusually scrappy, vengeful, and penalty pocked as football and hockey are meant to be, though I didn’t see any blood on the grass. High school football the best of sports though becoming now clearly physically too risky, college football is serious business, pro-football is kiddywinks biting and throwing sand into middle-age.

Either the p.a. system wasn’t working, or the pressbox wasn’t manned yet (peopled, personned, staffed?), or someone forgot, but no flag-raising and national anthem although the Lincoln band was prepped and ready. Teams took position, whistle blew, game on.

DThos+