DIANA – An artificial fog drifted across Eagle Stadium a week ago.
The third quarter was under way — New Diana versus Sabine, Friday night football — and long passes and the smaller players were lost as the smoky haze settled on the field.
“It’s just hanging, but it’ll blow out,” said Tobie Turner, the Sabine athletic booster club president.
He grinned sheepishly. The smoke was his doing. Following halftime, he’d gotten a little carried away with the fog machine that he sprays when the players are running onto the field, and now the fans in the bleachers could barely follow the action.
“If we’d just get a little breeze, it would dissipate,” he said.
The best-laid plans
Even when they can’t see the playing field, East Texans are crazy about their high school football. Players, coaches and boosters devote countless hours in the pursuit of Friday night glory. They sweat and bleed and pray for wins.
But try as they might, sometimes a plan goes up in smoke.
For every team with a storied tradition of district titles and deep playoff runs, there is a high school with a less heralded history and a reputation for losing. For every Kilgore Bulldog, there is a Sabine Cardinal.
The Sabine team has posted three winning seasons in the past 30 years – once in the 1980s, once in the 1990s, and in 2002.
Twenty times in the past three decades – two out of every three seasons – the Cardinals have failed to win more than two games.
It makes for a long 10-game season, and it’s a history of losing that is unmatched in East Texas.
“Everybody loves a winner, and everyone wants to be a part of winning,” said Jerry Baker, in his first year as head coach. “Sabine’s kids over the course of a few years have learned, doggone, it’s not so much about winning as it is about surviving, because they’ve taken so many blows and been through so many coaches.”
And yet, hundreds of Liberty City residents made the 30-mile drive to support their Cardinals when the team played New Diana a week ago. Not everybody in the stands was kin to a player, band member or cheerleader. The fans were there because they wanted to be.
Remnants of glory
The old coach from Sabine’s glory days sat off to himself at the Friday game. He chewed on a toothpick as he watched “our little kids” from a lawn chair he had unfolded on the running track near the end zone.
“Of course, I can’t talk much about losing,” said Lonnie Fenton, who retired in 1979 and still lives in Liberty City. “I coached out there for 13 years and never had a losing season.”
Fenton, 78, said the crowds were bigger when the team was winning.
“They’ve still got a good following. They haven’t given up,” he said. “I still follow them, and they’re pretty competitive. It will just take a certain group of kids to overcome the idea that you can’t beat somebody.”
The announcer’s opinion
Keith Wilkerson leaned against the chainlink fence, not far from the old coach in his lawn chair.
Wilkerson, Sabine’s home game announcer for 16 years, said Cardinals fans focus more on community involvement than wins and losses.
“I think a lot of people in the community are interested in what a coach teaches the kids, more than his win-loss record,” he said. “At the end of the day, how many of these kids are going to play in college, much less at the next level? The life lessons are a whole lot more important than wins and losses. At the same time, I know coaches live by their win-loss record.”
Over the years, he said, the lack of success has discouraged participation in the football program.
“But the kids always come and play four quarters, and they play hard to the end of each season,” he said. “I don’t think you can say it’s the coaches or a lack of interest. The community offers its support. It’s all been there. It’s just an odd thing.”
Wilkerson’s neighbor, Bud Florence, offered his two cents: “A lot of kids don’t want to put in the effort to get hammered every week,” he said.
Sabine’s academic record is strong, Wilkerson noted, and the marching band is precise.
“A lot of times we’ll say, well, at least we won halftime,” he said.
The fog clears
The haze that blanketed the field in Diana came courtesy of a new, unexpectedly potent can of “fog juice.” Turner and other boosters run a fog machine at games with the hope that it will infuse school spirit and Cardinal pride in the team.
The players run through an inflatable tunnel shaped like a cardinal’s head, then burst through the fog on their way to the sideline before each half.
“We are trying to come out of the cellar and into the limelight, and I want to do what I can to help the program come forward and start doing things right,” Turner said.
The Cardinals started strong against the Eagles, with help from a couple of New Diana turnovers. But by the early fourth quarter, the fog had lifted and the Cardinals found themselves in a three-touchdown hole.
“This is the bad part of the game,” Turner said. “We should be knuckling down and getting after it. We just seem to get too afraid to make mistakes. Seems like a lot of (the other team’s) big plays take the wind out of your sails, but it’s not for a lack of effort. The kids are putting in everything they can.”
Sabine lost, 38-20, but the fans took it in stride. It’s a rebuilding year.
Since the Cardinals dropped to Class 2A, there have been fewer blowouts, they note.
The Cardinals face White Oak tonight in the final game of the season. Moving forward, Coach Baker has been drawing up plans for offseason workouts, and boosters are expressing high hopes for next year – and the years to come.
“The future’s looking very good,” Turner said. “The JV is on a four-game winning streak. The eighth grade is undefeated, and they’re beating people pretty handily.”
9,667 responses to “Despite 30 years of losses, Sabine stays optimistic”
Wow! This is a cool platform. They really do have the intuitive UI. I moved funds across chains without a problem.
Magnificent goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too great. I really like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you are saying and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it smart. I can’t wait to read much more from you. This is actually a terrific web site.
I was skeptical, but after several months of using the mobile app, the accurate charts convinced me.
Thanks for sharing most of these wonderful threads. In addition, the right travel plus medical insurance plan can often ease those fears that come with traveling abroad. The medical crisis can in the near future become very expensive and that’s bound to quickly put a financial burden on the family’s finances. Setting up in place the best travel insurance package deal prior to leaving is worth the time and effort. Thank you
I’ve been using it for a year for portfolio tracking, and the clear transparency stands out.
Excellent post! We will be linking to this great content on our site. Keep up the good writing.
The very next time I read a blog, Hopefully it won’t fail me as much as this particular one. After all, Yes, it was my choice to read through, however I really believed you’d have something helpful to say. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something you can fix if you were not too busy searching for attention.
I was skeptical, but after since launch of using the mobile app, the easy onboarding convinced me. Perfect for both new and experienced traders.
Dakota here — I’ve tried using the API and the low fees impressed me.
I personally find that i’ve been using it for since launch for checking analytics, and the responsive team stands out.
I personally find that i switched from another service because of the easy onboarding and wide token selection.
Thanks for your text. I would love to say that a health insurance specialist also utilizes the benefit of the particular coordinators of a group insurance policy. The health insurance agent is given a long list of benefits wanted by individuals or a group coordinator. Exactly what a broker really does is seek out individuals or perhaps coordinators which often best match those requirements. Then he presents his tips and if the two of you agree, this broker formulates binding agreement between the two parties.
It is in reality a great and helpful piece of info. I am satisfied that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
I know of the fact that nowadays, more and more people are being attracted to camcorders and the issue of picture taking. However, to be a photographer, you should first expend so much of your time deciding which model of camera to buy and also moving out of store to store just so you may buy the least expensive camera of the brand you have decided to choose. But it would not end now there. You also have to consider whether you can purchase a digital camera extended warranty. Thanks for the good tips I accumulated from your web site.
I personally find that i’ve been active for almost a year, mostly for using the API, and it’s always fast transactions. Perfect for both new and experienced traders.
It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I want to suggest you few interesting things or tips. Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read more things about it!
I’ve been active for a week, mostly for trading, and it’s always scalable features. My withdrawals were always smooth.
I love it whenever people come together and share thoughts. Great website, stick with it!
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article! It is the little changes that make the biggest changes. Many thanks for sharing!
Hello, I believe your site could possibly be having web browser compatibility issues. When I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Apart from that, wonderful site!
I liked up to you will obtain performed proper here. The sketch is attractive, your authored material stylish. however, you command get bought an impatience over that you wish be turning in the following. sick without a doubt come further before again since precisely the same nearly very frequently inside case you defend this increase.
There are certainly a whole lot of particulars like that to take into consideration. That could be a great level to bring up. I offer the ideas above as general inspiration however clearly there are questions just like the one you carry up where a very powerful thing will likely be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged around issues like that, but I am positive that your job is clearly recognized as a good game. Both boys and girls really feel the impression of just a second?s pleasure, for the remainder of their lives.
You made some really good points there. I looked on the internet for more information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this web site.
Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after looking at some of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m certainly pleased I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently.
Fantastic goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely excellent. I really like what you’ve acquired here, certainly like what you are saying and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it smart. I cant wait to read far more from you. This is actually a great site.
I have been surfing online more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be much more useful than ever before.
I would also like to express that most individuals who find themselves without health insurance are normally students, self-employed and people who are without a job. More than half of those uninsured are really under the age of 35. They do not really feel they are wanting health insurance as they are young plus healthy. Their income is often spent on housing, food, along with entertainment. Some people that do work either 100 or part time are not made available insurance by way of their jobs so they head out without as a result of rising cost of health insurance in america. Thanks for the thoughts you share through this web site.
Somebody essentially help to make seriously articles I would state. This is the very first time I frequented your web page and thus far? I amazed with the research you made to create this particular publish amazing. Magnificent job!
It is the best time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you few interesting things or tips. Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article. I desire to read even more things about it!
Hey There. I discovered your blog the use of msn. This is a really smartly written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more of your helpful info. Thank you for the post. I?ll certainly return.
????? ??? ???? ??? ?????? ?? ?????????? ????????.
??? ??????? ??? ??? ???????? ????????
???? ??? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ?????
????????. ?????? ???? ???
??????? ?????????? ?? ??? ????.
???? ??? ?? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ??? ????!
??????? ???? ?? ??????????? ???????? ????? ?????
?????. ???? ???? ?? ????? ??????? ????? ???? ??
???? ???????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???.
????? ??? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ????? ? ????? ???? ??????.
???? ??? ???? ????? ?????!
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My website is in the exact same niche as yours and my users would really benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Regards!|
This is a good tip particularly to those new to the blogosphere. Simple but very accurate info… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read article!|
DD
There is certainly a lot to find out about this issue. I really like all of the points you’ve made.
That is a great tip particularly to those new to the blogosphere. Simple but very precise information… Many thanks for sharing this one. A must read post.
This is the right webpage for everyone who would like to understand this topic. You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really will need to…HaHa). You definitely put a fresh spin on a subject that has been written about for a long time. Excellent stuff, just great.
?? ?? ??? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ????????.
???????? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ???? ?????? ? ??? ???? ?????????.
???? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ? ????? ????? ???????.
????? ?????? ?????? ? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?????!
Thank you for sharing your info. I truly appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting for your next write ups thanks once again.|
The other day, while I was at work, my cousin stole my apple ipad and tested to see if it can survive a forty foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I had to share it with someone!|
It’s nearly impossible to find educated people in this particular subject, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Amazing blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any suggestions? Bless you!
Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any points for inexperienced blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.
I have read so many articles or reviews regarding the blogger lovers except this post is truly a nice piece of writing, keep it up.|
Remarkable! Its really amazing post, I have got much clear idea regarding from this piece of writing.|
Hello there! This post couldn’t be written much better! Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this. I am going to forward this article to him. Pretty sure he’ll have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
I could not refrain from commenting. Exceptionally well written!
Aw, this was a very good post. Spending some time and actual effort to create a great article… but what can I say… I put things off a whole lot and don’t manage to get nearly anything done.
What’s up, its good piece of writing concerning media print, we all be aware of media is a impressive source of facts.|