Fans v. Supporters

It has been a fascinating football season and I had the good fortune to attend a ton of games. Based on observations from around the city I see a disturbing trend that has increased in negative "volume" over the years. The observation in question is fan behavior. Long gone are the days of "my team win or lose." They have been replaced by a growing number of "experts," who seem to know more than the coaches, and boo birds who vocalize their disenchantment loudly and proudly. Based on the fan behavior I have witnessed, I have come to the conclusion that "fans" are displaying a sense of entitlement to say whatever, whenever, they desire. While there have always been disgruntled supporters, what shocks me, is their derision is now directed at their own team- sometimes even their own kids. Wow, when did high school football get replaced by the NFL? It is one thing to beat up on a grown man making millions, but an entirely different issue when directed toward an adolescent who is giving his best to represent his school. I fear we have truly lost the plot!

While I fear that soceital trends cannot be changed by one man, it is often one man who makes a difference, so in that light I offer my solution to this growing problem. We need to adopt the rugby model of supporter rather than fan. To be sure, rugby has it share of hooligans and idiots who attend matches, but their loyalty to their team is never in question. A supporter is someone who gets behind their team and regardless the score is there to cheer and lend moral support- win, lose, or draw.

A perfect example is 2008 European Champion Munster (Ireland). Munster is an amazing story which bears some examination. Munster is famous for their support of their side and their stadium in Limmerick is considered one of the loudest in the world. They consistently travel with more supporters than their opposition has at its own home stadium. While they are intense in their support of the homeside, they show their opposition the respect accorded to an opponent well-met on the field of competition. Last summer Munster played the New Zealand All Blacks in Limmerick. The match was a brilliant one and it all came down to a All Black penalty kick for the win. One could imagine that the stadium would be deafening in an effort to throw the kicker's concentration off, but instead there was absolute silence. When Dan Carter made the kick, the crowd applauded his efforts. What an amazing display of sportsmanship! I cannot imagine an American crowd responding that way.

Poor fan behavior is symptomatic of the "win at all costs" attitude that permiates our society. What are sports really about? The giant high school stadiums, millions in resources, and win at all cost mentality seems to reflect adults vicariously basking in the glory of their youth. God help the team and coaches when they lose, because this is wrongly seen as a personal affront - a poor reflection on the adults. Perhaps its time we give the game back to the kids and use it once again as a vehicle to teach sportsmanship, work ethic, teamwork, love of comrades and the game. Maybe we can learn something from our Irish cousins and go home from the game with a smile on our face, win, lose or draw - because we supported our team, who played their hearts out for us and demonstrated all those virtues that make sport such an amazing experience. Lets be supporters and let the fans go to the Texans' games.

Thunderbolt and Lightening

Friday night's St. Thomas-Strake Jesuit match up was picked as the game of the week and it definitely lived up to expectations. Despite recent domination of the series by the Crusaders, there was a large crowd on hand to witness the 45th contest in this storied rivalry. No one left the stadium disappointed, as the game proved to be an exciting affair. Jesuit managed a 38-27 win for their twelfth consecutive victory over the Eagles, but STH ensured the final result was in doubt until the last whistle.

The game was delayed for an hour as a result of storms which produced some intense lightening in the area. It was reminiscent of the game two years ago which was delayed for two-hours before being completed. It is difficult to say how much, if any, the delay effected the teams. One thing is certain, the lightening in the sky was matched by "lightening" on the field as both teams put up a load of points.

The game turned on turnovers and mistakes, with some extremely costly ones being committed by the Eagles special teams. This will be a game of "what ifs" for St. Thomas as they played great football, but repeatedly gave the Crusaders good field position which was used to generate points.

The Eagles took an early fourteen point lead after giving Strake the ball on the opening kickoff. The Crusaders then proceeded to turn the ball over leading to an early Eagles's touchdown. A few plays later linebacker Logan Stryk took a deflected ball in for a 5 yd score and the Eagles were off to a quick lead. The adrenaline began to wear off rapidly however, and after another muffed kickoff Strake managed to score, quickly followed by another touchdown - two scores in less than nine seconds. The Crusaders put in another score early in the second quarter and it looked as if they were going to pull away. However, the Eagles demonstrated their mastery of the spread offense and Hunter Kopycinski lead them on a nifty drive and a score right before the half. With the score tied at 21-21, and less than a minute and a half on the clock, it looked as if the teams would go into the locker rooms tied. Strake then put together a quick drive, capped by a long run from their tailback Jordan Hollingsworth. The Crusaders led 28-21 at the half.

The touchdown before the half was a severe psychological blow to the visitors, one which I am not sure they recovered from. Strake completely dominiated time of possession in the 3rd quarter scoring at the end of a quarter-eating drive. The Eagles would put together a late drive in the 4th quarter which was capped by a brilliant one-hand grab by Ian Stout, but it proved to be too little too late.

Both coaches have to be happy with their team's efforts on Friday night. Coach Counter's crew once again demonstrated character and resilience in coming back from a early STH lead. Crusader QB Hunter Schiro responded to two early and costly interceptions by playing a fantastic game, maintaining his confidence and poise like a veteran. For Coach Hollas and his staff, the defeat was gutting, but his team was extremely competitive and played well enough to win had they not committed so many mistakes. Like the Crusaders, the Eagles had some questions at QB going into the game, but both Fisch and Kopycinski played well. If anything, the game demonstrated that Hollas can used these two players in different roles - Fisch as the running QB and Kopycinski as the passer. Both teams managed to move the ball well and put up points.

However, both coaches also have some major concerns going into this week's games. Both secondaries proved to be very vulnerable (something that hurt STH last season). While the play up front was solid for both teams, they must shore up their coverages before they face their next opponents. The Eagles' running game was also suspect. If you do not have a reliable running game in the spread offense, teams are able to tee off on the passing game. Coach Hollas will need to address this issue if he is going to give his quarterbacks the time they need to run the passing offense. Finally, the Eagle special teams are going to need some major league work. The game's final score rested squarely on the mistakes made by St. Thomas mistakes in the kicking game.

It was a game of mistakes, passion, and excitement. If I am not mistaken it was a giant step in the continued revival of the proud STH football tradition. While there was huge disappointment on the part of the Eagles, however, they must be heartened by the fact that they could have won this game. Strake won its twelfth straight, and Coach Counter and his men demonstrated once again not to take the Crusaders lightly. It will be interesting to watch the season progress and the results of both these squads in 2009.

Sneak Peak of Eagle Football

I was downtown this morning for the first intrasquad football scrimmage for the St. Thomas Eagles in 2009. It is clear early in the season that Coach Hollas has his troops feeling much more comfortable with the offense than last year. There is an old adage in football in which the most growth in a program comes between the first and second years - we will see if this is true with Hollas's Eagles, but right now they appear to be on the right course.

In the battle for starting QB, Senior Scooter Fisch looked to have staked a major claim today over his sophomore rival Hunter Kopysinski. Fisch has an impressive arm and good speed. Although he had some difficulty moving the ball against the first defense, there were flashes of great things to come. Kopysinski will be a good one down the road, but could use a year of experience on the varsity working on his progressions before he is fully ready. Fisch is much bigger physically as one would expect with an older player. It will be interesting to see how Fisch, who has not played since his freshman year, adapts to Friday night lights and all the stunts he will see in game one against Strake Jesuit. He definitely has the physical tools and according to the coaches, Scooter is a lead by example player - best of luck to him as the season progresses.

The defense was very impressive. There were a number of very hard hits throughout the morning delivered by Eagle defenders with linebackers Logan Stryk and Kyle Willard standing out. Senior Ian Stout was the recepient of one of the blows and was forced to leave the field. This must be disconcerting for Hollas and his staff as Stout played with an injury most of last season keeping his production down from his breakout sophomore season. They will need a healthy Stout this year. Although there were some breakdowns in coverage, for the most part the secondary was solid. This was a weak spot in the defense last season and the growth of this unit will be the key to any hopes of post-season play for the Eagles.

Coach Hollas and his staff must be pleased with the state of Eagle football at this early stage of the campaign. The offense seems to be much more comfortable with the spread and on defense, schemes have been simplied (and were well-executed during the scrimmage). The pre-season is a time of hope for every program in which all things are possible. The Eagles are determined to win more than two games this year, so hopes are high. Coach Hollas has his crew believing in the system, so opponents should not underestimate the Eagles. Just how far they have progressed will be revealed when the Eagles open against the Strake Jesuit Crusaders on Sept. 28.