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Kids are getting attention and rightfully so,Willis is arguably one of the best WRs in Tn,Bailey has alot of potential with his size but wasnt and isnt the best lineman for GB in my opinion.Plemons was the best lineman last year and i personally think the Freshman will be this year.I dont know much about the new kids but i know they work hard and are good teammates and are very good athletes from what i hear. We keep trying to tell folks we have no clue how we are going to play nor do we know how good we will be!!LC,SP,HHS ALL bring back more kids and are the frontrunners for now as it should be,you all have earned that.We are going to play ball and see where we end up. Word of advice to you LC and HHS fans--Win and advance then do your talking,Cornersville OWNS YOU!you aint done NOTHING yet!

Word of the Day at William Blount is Window. I'm a big William Blount Fan on the side but for some strange reason we never Window.

-- 7 on 7 -- Oak Ridge Wildcats - 7 on 7 - 2019 July 11th at Blankenship Field 10AM - Noon Austin East - Halls - Kingston July 13th at Maryville College Morning Session July 18th at Blankenship Field 10AM - Noon Austin East - Central - William Blount RWR!

I think you are dead on with the community high school gets more support statement. You go to small towns across the state and the stands will still usually be full especially if there is a good team at the local high school. I went to the York/Oneida game in Jamestown the year before last (I graduated from York over 30 years ago and hadn't been to a game in 20 years) and it was like stepping back in time. It was almost the same as when I played. It was a pleasant surprise. I started going again because I had quit watching the NFL over the national anthem issues.

Not trying to degrade Greenback.......If they have to win that way well then by all means....How they do things is like a private school. Well since you know how WE DO THINGS inform us??Private schools offer assistance even scholarships.If im not mistaken if you are 25 miles away you can play the same year. To go GB the familys actually have to do a Bona-fide change of address and dont get any assistance in doing so.We are a public school so if these folks do that then we have to allow them in cant deny.Your reference is that we are running a shady system over here.I assure you these folks come on their own.What in the world would or could we offer to get a starting QB from the best high school football team in Tn for the past 2 decades and that returns arguably the best team in 2019??? GB has always been in the equation by have a very good football tradition it didnt start the past 4 years.The building of the new school,and a coaching staff that are former players and give their all for these kids changed everything for us and if it would have been built 10 years ago GB would have made more Championship appearances.We lost alot of families because of a dilapidated school.I was not a big transfer student fan but if it is done the right way it is what it is!

We went to the SHHS vs Bradley Central 1st round game last year. On a cold, misty, windy night in Johnson City I'd say the total fan count was 400 or less, excluding the bands and cheerleaders. IMO it's a combination of a couple of things..... * More entertainment options than ever. Unless you have kids or other relatives playing, high school football is simply a form of entertainment and there's a lot of competition for your entertainment dollars. * Consolidated schools have taken away some great local rivalries and created in some cases longer travel plans than people want to put forth the effort to make. It's not just a TSSAA problem. We watch a lot of high school football across the Southeast and while many of the community based schools will still pack the stands, there's a lot more that struggle to make anything at the gate.

In my view, there are a handful of issues. First, let's look at the schools, especially in areas like Metro-Nashville. The schools have been consolidated into a few large "centers." They're not necessarily representative of the surrounding area. In my younger days, I lived in Goodlettesville, and we went to Cumberland games (my dad's school), Goodlettsville/Madison/Hendersonville (all nearby), or to the top game in the area. Every public school had a decent turnout from the area. People might not have kids at the school, but they knew local boys on the team. It was a form of community entertainment, and that community doesn't really exist anymore. If you close a community's high school, it guts the community. Games outside the Davidson County area seem to draw better, but their crowds are less than they were in the 70's, because... There are a lot more options for one's entertainment money. I think back to '75 when I played 9th grade football at MBA. On a Saturday night, we filled the stadium for a championship game against McMurray. In Gallatin, Ryan and Gallatin drew 8,000 (again, 9th graders). Likewise, Cameron and Apollo drew a decent crowd at Antioch, even though the game was meaningless. But consider the alternatives. Locally, there was no NFL team. ABC showed ONE college game, and that Saturday it kicked off at 1:00 PM. There were a limited number of theaters, and at most they had 2 screens. There were 3 television channels, because I'm not counting the educational channel or channel 17, which was an on again/off again thing. It's not really an exaggeration to say that in that time, you could get excited about football, or you could go shoot squirrels. I try to explain to kids now that in '71, I was one of more than 22,000 people at Vanderbilt to see MBA play Ryan, a game in which the combined enrollments of the 2 schools was below 1,000. It's unfortunate, and not just in an "I'm an old man and I think things were better when I was younger," although I am and they were. But even with the issues that have arisen in high school football, it remains a great game. It's still a lot of young men (and women, if we include very athletic cheerleaders and talented bandmembers) who've worked very hard and put on a great show.

Smyrna high. They have teaching positions in PE, Science and History

High school is must better in my opinion. Most kids are playing for their community and it is more pure form. I love the rivalries, the food and the bands.

Mark it down now whoever wins the east will blow out the west in the championship game!! It has already been posted by your people that you lost the best lineman you had but brought 3 All Americans in to replace him. I guess you have not read that yet.

I agree with another poster. There are only 4 teams with a chance at winning a gold ball. Two in the east and two in the west.

Uh-oh, I was way off...... Okay, so now we need 341 classes. But actually we should anticipate future growth and just round it up to 367. This idea would really simplify the playoffs, every school would get their 1st place trophy this way.

Oak Ridge Wildcats - 7 on 7 - 2019 July 11th at Blankenship Field 10AM - Noon Austin East - Halls - Kingston July 13th at Maryville College Morning Session July 18th at Blankenship Field 10AM - Noon Austin East - Central - William Blount RWR!

I didn't even know 7 on 7's started this early. Shows how far out of the loop I am lol

Hmm it’ says ALL wrestlers MUST attend those two events or receive a waiver. I believe it was posted by the state chairman. I guess rules are flexible for certain people or waivers are given out to anyone.

What happened to your avatar pic?? I liked seeing the tiger on your posts.

How is that? The talent has graduated and transferred. As for recruiting the school speaks for itself. A big time hire like Walz or along that caliber would have drawed elite players on day one. Not the mid- D1 currently coming on board. Tennessee is not going to give her 5 years to try and build a program. What she has signed and what she has currently offered is middle tier in the SEC if that. Holly signed great classes off Pat’s legacy but Holly can’t coach. Believe me I want her to succeed but players like Levy will not get us there.

The best system was 5 classes for D1 and 2 classes for D2. Privates need to stay in their own league.

I’d be interested to see a side by side comparison with other states for tickets sold over the past 10-20 years to see if it’s a national trend. I doubt TN is much different than other states regarding its trends in attendance. As far as TN itself goes, growth is a double edged sword. The increase in population has enhanced the talent level but has also created many more high schools, which has greatly diminished the hometown/community pride that once pumped blood into these programs. I do think 5 classes is optimal and would make the playoffs more interesting, but I hope it never happens (the 6 class system has been very good to us). 3 or 4 will never happen. Too much money would be lost and the state has outgrown it IMO. Toothpaste is already out of the tube on most of the other issues.

The fans are getting older and there isn't as much interest among the younger folks. Now if it rains or is cold the season ticket holders stay home. The students don't seem to care like we did when I was in school. I never missed a game unless I had to work, then I went just to catch the 4th quarter. Now there are a bunch of year round sports drawing off players and fans. It may cost more now but I don't think TSSAA is the main cause. There's a whole new mind set among the fans now. Parents of players don't come to the games.

This is a game I went to at Austin-East in 2015 against GCA and it's homecoming and you can count the people in the stands. Back in the mid 80's when LeRoy Thompson was there you had to go early to get a seat. Now it looks like a funeral.