RiverRat24

The point im making, as did another individual on here, is that there's something that's a deciding factor for everyone that leads them to be a fan. Not everyone chooses a team due to their success. I could have counted the number of VT fans I knew on one hand when I was growing up in school. Then boom....suddenly out of the wood works there was a huge fan base around 1998, 1999, and 2000 all around me. But if them being successful for a few years is what drew kids to watching them and becoming fans of them then so be it..... as long as they remain fans then props to them. However, grown men that already had teams should cram their head in a hole and pull the world in around them for jumping ship. And as for your question: I started watching football a couple years before basketball as a child. ....but I rooted for ND all the same in every sport. Not much to root for in basketball until as of lately but I still stay loyal to the university. Always ups and downs....more downs than ups for me since I started watching ND. I wouldn't change who I root for no matter what university I graduated from. I went to school for an education...not for the right to root for a team

Might get to see what Wisconsin has to offer right off that bat this year. You won't have to worry about Gordon....so that's starting off on the right foot.

I'm game!

For some strange reason I feel like deep down Jerry Jones is still itching for Ray Rice. Romo will be back to showing his true colors if he has to go back to passing the ball to win games for Dallas....plain and simple. It pains me being a Dallas fan but Romo just can't hack it throwing the ball in big game situations without a true threat at RB. I think I would have rather seen them get rid of Dez and keep Murray. Murray was a machine and level headed....Bryant I see stirring up a stink just about every year over something...The next Terrell Owens.

I've got another reason for being a true Notre Dame fan living in Southwestern VA. They was good but didn't win any championships since I've been alive so obviously claiming that being my reason is voided. When I was a kid....say 5 or 6 when I started watching football....we only had 3 or maybe 4 channels on tv. I think 5, 11, 19, and maybe 36 or 39 was the only ones we had in the mid 90s so I was limited to who I watched even though alot of games came on these channels. But since we watched alot of NBC I got to see ND play all the time and grew fond of them. I was real close with my Uncle and he was a fan too....but along came VT in the late 90s and he kinda jumped ship and claimed them as his pride and glory. (largely due in part to Houseright and Beasley going there from GC) Left a bad taste in my mouth even as a kid seeing someone go from one team to the next no matter if the whole GC squad went to VT or not. From that point on I bashed anyone that kept more than one ncaa or NFL teams hat on their counter or closet. With that being said....I travel to see 3 or 4 ND home games each year providing my work schedule allows it. One huge reason I really liked ND is that at a young age I was informed you couldn't just go to ND for athletic ability.....you had to have good academics as well to even be looked at. None of this 8th grade level math skills yet take ghost classes and still play on the team and come out shining like a diamond in a goats a**. You don't have to be a grad to be a fan of a school that isn't local to where you live....thats completely bogus. I had the grades to get into any D1 school that I pleased when I graduated high school but some of those Universities didn't specialize in what field I wanted to pursue so obviously that had alot of bearing on where I went to school and I didn't choose to go to the school that I rooted for in sports. Something draws everyone to a team as a kid.....no matter what it is stick with that team through thick and thin and I don't see how your not a true fan. I mean.... kids dont attend college at 6-10 years old when you become interested in sports......and how many people do you know that wait til they enroll at a college to watch sports and then make them their permanent team to follow for life?!? Probably close to never! With all that being said....your team doesnt have to be local, you dont have to be a grad from that school, and you dont have to attend games. All of that is hogwash! And I realize this thread is super old and my post is essentially a novel....but I felt like stirring around in the pot a little bit with college football around the corner.

Prayers to the young man! Hope all is well with him. Sounds like this Richlands team is the real deal which I expected from what I saw last year. I feel like yalls style of play is gonna be very similar to Unions. You guys have a ton of depth at receiver while Union maybe doesn't have as much depth but has UNBELIEVEABLE size at wideout with the twin towers. I expect great QB play from both teams as well. After the season ended last year I projected Richlands to be substantially better than the rest of the pack this season......but after the showing yesterday from Union it's hard to say really. It could be a another showdown between the Blues and the Bears this year....however I'm sticking to my early prediction from last year. Richlands hanging with Belfry... the defending 3A KY state champs or Union playing a much larger TN High that's typically a solid team.....and moving the ball at will! I'd love to see this game....should be another classic!!

Looks like it may be a battle between Union and the Blues this year in Southwest VA. I heard nothing but good things from Unions scrimmage with Tennessee High yesterday. 21-7 when lightning struck and stopped the show early.....and Union was missing their starting QB and another key offensive weapon. I think GC is just a few steps behind the best teams in SW VA this year and that possibly could be coming in 4th behind Ridgeview..... even though I came away fairly impressed in their scrimmage with Betsy. Should be some good battles this year between the top teams. I think GC and Ridgeview will make strides towards the end of the season....but Southwest VA area should be Union or Richlands to lose. (And I'm not including the teams from Three Rivers.....just speaking of Mountain and Southwest district)

I can't remember for sure.....but I'm thinking it was Lee's announcer that would call a 3rd down & 7 " a short 3rd and 7" if it was Lee's ball but the opposing team he usually said something like "we've got a long 2nd & 2 coming up". Only guy I've ever seen to claim 7-10 yards a short down. I'd have a bawl just watching the chain gang look back and forth at each other when he reeled off on of these classic comments.

I can't remember for sure.....but I'm thinking it was Lee's announcer that would call a 3rd down & 7 " a short 3rd and 7" if it was Lee's ball but the opposing team he usually said something like "we've got a long 2nd & 2 coming up". Only guy I've ever seen to claim 7-10 yards a short down. I'd have a bawl watching the chain gang look back and forth at each other.

Well.... with the starters in it was 20-19 GC over Elizabethton. Take it for what it's worth. 2nd and 3rd string got a lot of reps in which was good. Some very young promising talent coming up for both teams....Alot of size and speed with those younger fellas. Good QB play from both sides...Betsy QB was one of the most accurate QBs I've seen in a while at the high school level. Had a cannon of an arm. Everyone might see a slightly different Gate City team this year from the offensive side of things I do believe.

I don't blame you for not staying haha I watched Abingdon and Marion last year and if I hadn't walked around the whole time I would have left that game early. Like to have froze to death. Football etiquette goes out the window when it's not your team playing. What's the concensus on Wise Central this year? Anyone have much insight? They was a pretty solid team last year....just missing a few pieces to put it all together.

Sorry fellas....not sure what my phone managed to do to me. Tried to delete 2 of the 3 posts that went up and I can't manage to find how to delete them completely so I just left periods in the comment box. Maybe it's my old smartphone not cooperating....or maybe it's the Indian and not the bow.

Send some of those Sullivan South, North, Central boys across the state line......we'll take em! Not that we've ever done that before. ;) Yea i didn't really see combining all 3 schools in Scott County. ...i was just spouting off! That would probably push the 3A envelope or at least close to it. I've not looked at the numbers to really know. However combining just TS and Rye Cove would make another 2A team in Southwest VA if Scott Co. ever sees fit to do such a thing. Would they be more susceptible to close one down and split the students between two schools or consolidate the two smaller schools?

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Well ill go ahead and say that it didn't get any better after halftime. I looked like a walking ice sculpture in my rain suit......my jacket was covered in ice and started crackling all over when I started to leave. Whole suit was froze stiff with ice. Not sure if it's being a true fan at that point or just sheer ignorance. Lol but if the boys can stand playing in it I suppose I can stand to watch it. Being that GC is playing Central at the end of the season aasof right now I'd say it's gonna be several years of rough weather watching that game. As long as the rain doesn't fall at near freezing temperatures Wise Central should be the place for perfect football weather games...nice and cold throughout the season.

I'm not sure what's more impressive...... 70+ players coming out or the fact they have their own store inside their school. I feel like I'm ready for Twin Springs, Rye Cove, and GC to consolidate now.

Looks like an awesome place for some football! Most miserable I've been at a game in a long time was last year at UVA Wise watching GC play Central. 15-20 mph winds with rain changing to sleet then snow at about 34°. I'd like to see this new stadium but I'm glad it's at GC this year.

I was afraid of this. ....but I guess we will have to see next week to get a better idea of what we have. Line em up and get at it. 10-0 or 0-10.....I'm excited for the boys to be back on the field. But really, with the schedule we have 6-4 is nothing to sneeze at and would still be a great season for them

I sure hope they suprise everyone! I've not heard too much about us this year. I've got faith that talented players have moved up into positions but I'm always a little leary I guess you could say when I haven't been hearing much by this point in the summer. Could be really good.....or could be really bad. With our schedule I'd be okay with 6-4 and impressed with 7-3....i never like to see us lose but we've got a mountain of a schedule to climb. I'm hoping that my Hiltons faithful have just let me down and they haven't got the word out to me yet about what the boys have in store this year.

I don't think Ridgeview being competitive will be a problem for them at all. They knew what it took last year and that's instilled in them....whether it be 1A or 2A you bring it all to the table and knowing what it takes to win will take care of itself....at that point either your good enough to win it all or your not. Whether they have it or not we will find out....but they know they have to be about their business. Competition will be tougher week in and week out is the only difference versus just having a 2A school in your schedule here and there. The MD has 4-5 solid teams in it now. I want to see Ridgeview do great things. The more legacies and contenders we have in Southwest VA the less those the north east has to bump their gums about!!

I may eat my words by the time this season is over with......but I feel like Ridgeview will go at least 7-3. Just my take on the matter but alot of people want to use Union as an example of why they think Ridgeview won't start out hot. Union didn't start out great and people say "look at who they put together......PV and Appy.....if those 2 teams don't win right out of the gate no one will". Well my take on it, it wasn't the PV and Appy teams of the late 80s and early 90s that were so dominant that were consolidated. The Jones brothers and Mabe, Turner, and Clark were long gone when they got stuck together. PV was up and down as of late before they consolidated and Appy did good to field 25 players it seemed like and they werent really competitive.....and i mean that with no disrespect. Now Union is a competitor however and doing pretty well as of late. This Ridgeview team is 2 teams put together that were both contenders last year and are bringing back quite a bit to the table. With the coach that they have at Ridgeview.....they won't have a choice but to gel and to have but one objective....and that's to win. If the kids act like they are having problems meshing with one another I'd be willing to wager their butts will ride the pine while someone else is on the field in their spot. Good coach but a no nonsense coach as well. With his type of coaching added with the success of the programs and the will of the kids to win I don't see any reason why they shouldn't be contenders from the start. The only problem I see would be for the coach to have to sit little Johnny who started for him last year only to have lil Timmy from the other school playing over him because he's better. Which turns out you have 2 good players at that position now.....so I'm thinking that's a good problem to have other than the one player who loses his starting spot. I think Ridgeview possibly makes a run in the playoffs. Not sure how the games will unfold against Union or GC but I don't think they will be blowouts by any means. The biggest issue this year isn't going to be how well Ridgeview does.....they will do fine. The problem everyone is going to have is figuring out how to stop Richlands. If you don't get them early in the season then lookout! But at any rate, excited to see how the new program unfolds at Ridgeview. Maybe start a whole new legacy of their own that's compatible to the other greats in SWVA. And most of all.....I'm ready to watch the boys play on that new field which looks like a small college stadium!!! Good luck to the Wolfpack and everyone else in the Souwestern Virginia. Ready to hear the pads popping!

Would like to say congrats to a good Richlands team and fan base! One heck or a tear for you guys. Was rooting for you all the way.....just can't have that many turnovers and pull out a win. Defense evidently played outstanding to give you a chance to still win the game in OT. Nothing for the Blues to hang their heads about though. And congrats to a solid season to Honaker and Haysi as well. Would have liked to see all of you guys in the championship. And since I haven't been on in a while i haven't had the chance to mention it.......but as a GC fan I'll say this. .....I'd give anything to have Mance on our sidelines at GC as the HC. In the GC and Richlands and GC we were simply outcoached. Looked like peanut league vs collegiate strategy at times. Housey just made some awful calls at times in that game and definitely no adjustments. Not to take away from the boys in the pads for the Blues. ....they played an awesome game. But Mance just game planned us and made Housey look like a smoking pile. But I digress.......til next year boys!! One hell of a season and am already ready for next year. For now, time to hit the hardwoods and shoot the rock!

GC fumbled ball into the endzone on what looked like to be a score before halftime to tie the ball game. Instead touchback and it's 21-14 at the half with GC getting the ball after the intermission

That is correct!! The field is right beside of the high school. Just look for a big mess of cars parked everywhere and you'll know your there