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.”
9,660 responses to “Despite 30 years of losses, Sabine stays optimistic”
This piece of writing will assist the internet viewers for setting up new web site or even a weblog from start to end.|
Hello to every one, it’s actually a nice for me to pay a quick visit this website, it includes important Information.|
Good post but I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Thanks!|
After looking into a handful of the blog posts on your web site, I seriously like your way of writing a blog. I saved it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my web site too and let me know your opinion.|
Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I in finding It truly helpful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and help others like you helped me.|
I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the structure of your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?|
I’d like to find out more? I’d care to find out some additional information.
Hey! I understand this is somewhat off-topic but I needed to ask. Does managing a well-established website like yours take a large amount of work? I’m brand new to writing a blog but I do write in my journal on a daily basis. I’d like to start a blog so I will be able to share my own experience and views online. Please let me know if you have any kind of recommendations or tips for new aspiring blog owners. Appreciate it!|
I know this web page offers quality depending content and other information, is there any other web site which presents these kinds of information in quality?|
Great article! We are linking to this particularly great post on our website. Keep up the good writing.
Having read this I believed it was very informative. I appreciate you spending some time and effort to put this content together. I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worth it!
I always emailed this web site post page to all my
contacts, because if like to read it next my links will
too.
I switched from another service because of the accurate charts and clear transparency. Support solved my issue in minutes.
Hello there, You’ve done a great job. I’ll definitely digg it and for my part recommend to my friends. I’m sure they will be benefited from this website.|
I personally find that the best choice I made for using the API. Smooth and quick deposits.
Hello, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar
one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam feedback?
If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can suggest?
I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any assistance is very much appreciated.
I personally find that i’ve been active for almost a year, mostly for fiat on-ramp, and it’s always stable performance. Great for cross-chain swaps with minimal slippage.
Hi there exceptional blog! Does running a blog similar to this require a massive amount work? I’ve virtually no understanding of programming but I had been hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyways, if you have any suggestions or tips for new blog owners please share. I understand this is off subject however I just had to ask. Appreciate it!|
Hey! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group? There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Thanks|
Heya just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same outcome.|
I am really impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one nowadays.|
Its such as you read my thoughts! You appear to know so much approximately this, such as you wrote the e book in it or something. I think that you simply could do with a few p.c. to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, that is wonderful blog. A great read. I will definitely be back.|
Magnificent site. A lot of helpful info here. I’m sending it to some pals ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks to your effort!|
Quality posts is the secret to attract the users to go to see the web page, that’s what this site is providing.|
Hello there! This blog post couldn’t be written much better! Looking through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept preaching about this. I’ll send this information to him. Fairly certain he’s going to have a good read. Thank you for sharing!|
Unquestionably imagine that which you stated. Your favourite justification seemed to be on the internet the simplest thing to have in mind of. I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while folks consider concerns that they plainly don’t understand about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the entire thing without having side-effects , other people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you|
I was skeptical, but after several months of using the mobile app, the accurate charts convinced me.
I personally find that i’ve been active for a few days, mostly for using the mobile app, and it’s always stable performance.
The transparency around stable performance is refreshing and builds trust. Great for cross-chain swaps with minimal slippage.
Fees are stable performance, and the execution is always smooth. Great for cross-chain swaps with minimal slippage.
I switched from another service because of the wide token selection and quick deposits. My withdrawals were always smooth.
I personally find that i was skeptical, but after over two years of fiat on-ramp, the wide token selection convinced me.
I personally find that the best choice I made for exploring governance. Smooth and great support. The mobile app makes daily use simple.
Heya! I know this is somewhat off-topic however I needed to ask. Does operating a well-established blog such as yours take a large amount of work? I’m completely new to running a blog however I do write in my journal every day. I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my personal experience and thoughts online. Please let me know if you have any recommendations or tips for brand new aspiring blog owners. Appreciate it!|
I could not refrain from commenting. Very well written.
Good write-up. I certainly love this site. Thanks!
I’ve been active for half a year, mostly for cross-chain transfers, and it’s always robust security. The dashboard gives a complete view of my holdings.
Good site you have got here.. It’s hard to find high quality writing like yours these days. I seriously appreciate people like you! Take care!!
Very good article. I am experiencing a few of these issues as well..
It’s difficult to find experienced people in this particular topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
I was skeptical, but after several months of fiat on-ramp, the trustworthy service convinced me. The updates are frequent and clear.
An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a co-worker who had been doing a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me lunch simply because I found it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to talk about this matter here on your site.
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every day. It will always be interesting to read through articles from other authors and practice something from other web sites.
Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s tough to get that “perfect balance” between usability and visual appearance. I must say you’ve done a superb job with this. Additionally, the blog loads super quick for me on Opera. Superb Blog!|
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my weblog thus i came to “return the favor”.I am attempting to find things to enhance my website!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!|
Simply desire to say your article is as astounding. The clearness in your post is simply spectacular and i can suppose you’re an expert on this subject. Well together with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to stay updated with coming near near post. Thank you one million and please carry on the rewarding work.|
First of all I want to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your mind before writing. I’ve had a hard time clearing my mind in getting my ideas out there. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips? Cheers!|
I wanted to thank you for this fantastic read!! I absolutely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have you book marked to check out new things you post…|
I read this piece of writing completely concerning the difference of newest and previous technologies, it’s awesome article.|
}