Tenn. HS football vs. other states

[john007]

Have any of you been to high school games in other states? How do they compare to football here? I went to a game in Florida earlier in the year, and it was awesome. There were fans stacked 5 deep on the sidelines, and the stands were completely full. Whenever there was a touchdown, the place went nuts. It compared to college games I've been to. I was just wandering where we are on the totem pole when it comes to emphasis placed on high school football. I've been to some exciting games this year, but no game I've ever been to in Tennessee compares to the one I saw in Florida this year.

 

I remember someone telling me a story about Bear Bryant. It was Auburn-Alabama week, and a reporter asked him about the biggest game of the year. He replied by saying Aub.-Ala. wasn't the biggest game of the year, but instead a rivalry game that Friday night between two high schools. I'm not sure I got that story completely right, and correct me if you've heard it. Tennessee ball is very great and I love it here, but it seems like there is more excitement elsewhere.

[WaCoJaCo]

Who cares how they do it in Florida. I love Tennessee High School Football!

[rlh]

Who cares how they do it in Florida. I love Tennessee High School Football!

Yeah, what WacoJaco said! Just for the record the South Pittsburg Pirates won the TN 1A title and stomped perennial Alabama power Courtland and 1999 AL 1a state champ.

 

Also Trousdale county beat the eventual 2a Alabama state champ that year. The Pirates beat Trousdale in the semis that year and Trousdale beat the Pirates in the semis in 1998. How is that for stacking up?

[baconbreath]

If you really want to compare different states to Tennessee high school football just look at the rosters of the colleges. There are very few playing major college football from the state of Tennessee compared to other states like Georgia, Florida, Alabama, etc. That's why the Vols have to recruit nationwide. Tennessee high school football is fun and I love it and there are some great rivalries but it certainly can't stack up to surrounding states when it come to talent on high school teams.

[rlh]

If you really want to compare different states to Tennessee high school football just look at the rosters of the colleges. There are very few playing major college football from the state of Tennessee compared to other states like Georgia, Florida, Alabama, etc. That's why the Vols have to recruit nationwide. Tennessee high school football is fun and I love it and there are some great rivalries but it certainly can't stack up to surrounding states when it come to talent on high school teams.

Compare populations of those states at the same time and do the math. California has 45 million freaking people and Florida and Texas has a lot of people too. Last time I looked Clausen was under ridicule by many fair weather Vounteeer fans. There is always some good players that get over looked. I think a lot of high school coaches wait for the scouts to come looking. Farragut, the largest HS in TN for decades and decades would be just an average middle size school in CA. But TN's 1a and 2a schools can hang with anybody's or more importantly may be able to hang with TN. The 4a and 5a is different world in these states like FL and CA.Tn schools beat schools from surrounding states all the time. Besides, for Tn schools from small towns, its not just a sport, its part of local lore and culture

Edited November 9, 2003 by rlh

[ELA]

You really can't compare Tennessee football to Texas, Florida, or California. Back in the mid-70's when I was in school, we had over 125 boys on our football team. Two JV teams, two freshman teams, and a huge varsity squad. The annual football budget was over $200K and all 5000 season tickets were sold in advance in books of five at a price of $24 a set. Even the smaller schools have "huge pockets" and coaching salaries are twice what they are here. They play by NCAA rules and have much more restrictions than we do. I love Tennessee H.S. football but you can't really compare the two in terms of quality. Our top programs (public or private) would struggle against their best schools. Imagine having 40 kids on offense and 40 kids on defense, platooning each squad? The numbers are just overwhelming!

[buc1]

You really can't compare Tennessee football to Texas, Florida, or California. Back in the mid-70's when I was in school, we had over 125 boys on our football team. Two JV teams, two freshman teams, and a huge varsity squad. The annual football budget was over $200K and all 5000 season tickets were sold in advance in books of five at a price of $24 a set. Even the smaller schools have "huge pockets" and coaching salaries are twice what they are here. They play by NCAA rules and have much more restrictions than we do. I love Tennessee H.S. football but you can't really compare the two in terms of quality. Our top programs (public or private) would struggle against their best schools. Imagine having 40 kids on offense and 40 kids on defense, platooning each squad? The numbers are just overwhelming!

I agree. If you were to take the top 25 players from each it may be a different story.

[WaCoJaCo]

Not to mention in some states you can play until your 20yrs. old.

[FBEmeritus]

The population is what drives the train. The biggest negative in High School sports, in my opinion is the size of the schools. Society thinks bigger is better, but I do not think this is true concerning schools. The reason I feel this way when you have 125-150 kids in a program how many will really be able to experience the joy of playing HS Football? There are many kids who might develop given the chance. Sure the quality might be better with a large school but this stops many young men from being able to make the team. These kids may not be super studs but they will miss a great part of youth, the High School Football experience. I love TN HS football for what it is, one can only compare communities of the same size. Looking at college rosters does not always tell the tail and is not a valid point. I wish all kids who desired to play HS Ball be given the opportunity to do so, because it is the greatest of games.

[ELA]

The population is what drives the train. The biggest negative in High School sports, in my opinion is the size of the schools. Society thinks bigger is better, but I do not think this is true concerning schools. The reason I feel this way when you have 125-150 kids in a program how many will really be able to experience the joy of playing HS Football? There are many kids who might develop given the chance. Sure the quality might be better with a large school but this stops many young men from being able to make the team. These kids may not be super studs but they will miss a great part of youth, the High School Football experience. I love TN HS football for what it is, one can only compare communities of the same size. Looking at college rosters does not always tell the tail and is not a valid point. I wish all kids who desired to play HS Ball be given the opportunity to do so, because it is the greatest of games.

There is a lot of truth to what you are saying. The big 5A high schools in Texas have over 3000 kids and ten-12 assistant principals. The schools are like small college campuses and more discipline problems than you can imagine! A lot of parents are taking their kids out of school in favor of home schooling and those kids are missing out on the whole high school experience. Sports programs in these schools are much more competitive because each team is 5-8 deep at every position!

 

I'm really glad my kids grew up in Tennessee and both got to start and play ball! If they had went to school in my home town, there is a chance they would not have ever started! Football is a game of competition but it is also about learning how to be a man. I wish all high schools in America had less than 750 students... it would be much more personal in every way!