The decorations on street lights of Gate City.

[BasementBaller2021 7]

Noticed the brand new Gate City blue “banners” on all the street lights in town.  Well I will say.  It’s a start.   
Something that would be nice and would bring a lot of pride to the community is if instead of just the banner of the school on the street light you have Gate City Blue Devils and then put football state champs 1970 or another sport with a state championship winning year. Put a banner up for every single state championship team on the street lights.  Or do like Kingsport.  Put a street sign up for every single state championship team that’s ever been at the school. 
or use the concrete wall beside the road leading to the school.  
Draw banners of all the state championship winning sports teams on the concrete wall. 
Hey. Maybe even draw a huge mural of Mac McClung there beside it on the wall in a Lakers jersey doing the reverse dunk he had in a game.  
To me any of that stuff is good.  Anything is better than the (and I mean no disrespect) the Jerry Kilgore Attorney General sign. 
That has played itself out a long time ago.  
If Gate City is about pride in the community and making itself better… do something like this that shows pride in the community and gives your young people something to dream about.  God knows they have nothing else to dream about in the town. 
If the town is just about politics and making sure certain individuals have a certain elite status over everyone else in the county then leave the attorney general sign up.  
Let everyone else in the county know how you stand anyway.  
People power over community pride.  
That’s what the place is about anyway. 
Why from this view the town will never grow and develop and be a proud symbol of growth and revolution.  
Too many afraid of change. 
No pride in community and no one wanting to take the initiative to show that pride in the community. 
Just remain the lil old hicktown where things remain the same. And you look at photos 30 years from now and see the same old hicktown you saw 30 years before. 
Don’t even know why I suggested this stuff to begin with.  
These ideas are too radical for the old fogeys in Gate City.  
Long live the kings in power who fear nothing but one thing.  
Change coming to their kingdom. 
 

P.S.  And before some ignorant doofus says “But I thought you weren’t about the individual?   Dude I think a mural of a guy who has worked his tail off to play in a pro sports league where only the best 500 people who play the game of basketball in the world are able to play there is indeed quite the feat.  Considering there’s about 5 billion of us or more on this planet.  And one of those people came from here.  So yeah.  I think that concrete wall would be very deserving of a bunch of sports banner of our state championship teams and McClung reverse dunk mural.  

[BandanaVTDavis4321 1,717]

4 hours ago, BasementBaller2021 said:

Noticed the brand new Gate City blue “banners” on all the street lights in town.  Well I will say.  It’s a start.   
Something that would be nice and would bring a lot of pride to the community is if instead of just the banner of the school on the street light you have Gate City Blue Devils and then put football state champs 1970 or another sport with a state championship winning year. Put a banner up for every single state championship team on the street lights.  Or do like Kingsport.  Put a street sign up for every single state championship team that’s ever been at the school. 
or use the concrete wall beside the road leading to the school.  
Draw banners of all the state championship winning sports teams on the concrete wall. 
Hey. Maybe even draw a huge mural of Mac McClung there beside it on the wall in a Lakers jersey doing the reverse dunk he had in a game.  
To me any of that stuff is good.  Anything is better than the (and I mean no disrespect) the Jerry Kilgore Attorney General sign. 
That has played itself out a long time ago.  
If Gate City is about pride in the community and making itself better… do something like this that shows pride in the community and gives your young people something to dream about.  God knows they have nothing else to dream about in the town. 
If the town is just about politics and making sure certain individuals have a certain elite status over everyone else in the county then leave the attorney general sign up.  
Let everyone else in the county know how you stand anyway.  
People power over community pride.  
That’s what the place is about anyway. 
Why from this view the town will never grow and develop and be a proud symbol of growth and revolution.  
Too many afraid of change. 
No pride in community and no one wanting to take the initiative to show that pride in the community. 
Just remain the lil old hicktown where things remain the same. And you look at photos 30 years from now and see the same old hicktown you saw 30 years before. 
Don’t even know why I suggested this stuff to begin with.  
These ideas are too radical for the old fogeys in Gate City.  
Long live the kings in power who fear nothing but one thing.  
Change coming to their kingdom. 
 

P.S.  And before some ignorant doofus says “But I thought you weren’t about the individual?   Dude I think a mural of a guy who has worked his tail off to play in a pro sports league where only the best 500 people who play the game of basketball in the world are able to play there is indeed quite the feat.  Considering there’s about 5 billion of us or more on this planet.  And one of those people came from here.  So yeah.  I think that concrete wall would be very deserving of a bunch of sports banner of our state championship teams and McClung reverse dunk mural.  

Just my opinion of your post Gate City fan, but your post is both Reasonable and Rational.  It's not a giant stretch to do.  It's not very costly.  It reinforces togetherness in the town, builds the team (every citizen in the town or fan, alums, etc), brings cohesion, celebrate accomplishments.   Sounds like an awesome idea to me.  Some may say, "well, it's not going to help you go 7-3 or 8-2, or bring back the good ole days of Gate City football."  That point has no relevance.  Gate City may go undefeated in 2 years and run the table or go 0-10.  Doesn't matter related to the suggestions you gave.  There is only something to gain and nothing to lose, and with very, very little cost money wise.

[SXSW 557]

19 hours ago, BasementBaller2021 said:

Noticed the brand new Gate City blue “banners” on all the street lights in town.  Well I will say.  It’s a start.   
Something that would be nice and would bring a lot of pride to the community is if instead of just the banner of the school on the street light you have Gate City Blue Devils and then put football state champs 1970 or another sport with a state championship winning year. Put a banner up for every single state championship team on the street lights.  Or do like Kingsport.  Put a street sign up for every single state championship team that’s ever been at the school. 
or use the concrete wall beside the road leading to the school.  
Draw banners of all the state championship winning sports teams on the concrete wall. 
Hey. Maybe even draw a huge mural of Mac McClung there beside it on the wall in a Lakers jersey doing the reverse dunk he had in a game.  
To me any of that stuff is good.  Anything is better than the (and I mean no disrespect) the Jerry Kilgore Attorney General sign. 
That has played itself out a long time ago.  
If Gate City is about pride in the community and making itself better… do something like this that shows pride in the community and gives your young people something to dream about.  God knows they have nothing else to dream about in the town. 
If the town is just about politics and making sure certain individuals have a certain elite status over everyone else in the county then leave the attorney general sign up.  
Let everyone else in the county know how you stand anyway.  
People power over community pride.  
That’s what the place is about anyway. 
Why from this view the town will never grow and develop and be a proud symbol of growth and revolution.  
Too many afraid of change. 
No pride in community and no one wanting to take the initiative to show that pride in the community. 
Just remain the lil old hicktown where things remain the same. And you look at photos 30 years from now and see the same old hicktown you saw 30 years before. 
Don’t even know why I suggested this stuff to begin with.  
These ideas are too radical for the old fogeys in Gate City.  
Long live the kings in power who fear nothing but one thing.  
Change coming to their kingdom. 
 

P.S.  And before some ignorant doofus says “But I thought you weren’t about the individual?   Dude I think a mural of a guy who has worked his tail off to play in a pro sports league where only the best 500 people who play the game of basketball in the world are able to play there is indeed quite the feat.  Considering there’s about 5 billion of us or more on this planet.  And one of those people came from here.  So yeah.  I think that concrete wall would be very deserving of a bunch of sports banner of our state championship teams and McClung reverse dunk mural.  

First take a big deep breath and hold it for 5 seconds and exhale. I like the banners but I am not sure there are 27 street lights in Gate City to hang one for each championship, if there are them honor them with a street light. Gate City is suffering from the perfect storm of apathy, changing culture and the death "of the greatest generation"...let me explain! First the support issues Gate City athletics were supported by a mix of "old money" "coal money" and "community money" all that has changed. If Gate City needed anything the Smith family, the Kilgore family or the Humphrey family just wrote a check to get it, but the old money has died off, the coal money has dried up and the community just doesn't care that much any more. The opioid drug crises has crippled families and kids just don't care about playing sports like they used too. As a late 80's Alumni of Gate City you didn't need to display pride, we had it in our hearts and wore it on our sleeves at football games. The last decade of GC football has been horrible but there have been bad decades before and if they never win another State Championship at anything they have given me the the best days of my life (I have witnessed 4 of the 5 state championships) (and numerous other titles) and for that I am forever grateful. The Community support will return when the wins do in football. But by all means honor each state champion and also honor the 6 VHSL Hall of Famers who played or coached at GC ( Fry, Baker, Colobro, Reed, Sheets and Bishop) and realize that there are more HOFer's coming (Mac and Coach Gardner)....The banners are a good start but Basement Baller you are now the generation that must carry the torch and quit complaining about the past and do something for the future. Lead by example and fight on! Start an Alumni Group and raise money to buy the banners and the paint for the murals. Oh and I am proud to be from a Hick Town like Gate City!