Seniors, Rebeka Showers and Sammi Harer, compare sports to the good ol' days

MONTGOMERY – There’s nothing better than sitting around a fire and listening to your Dad and Grandpa discuss old football stories. You sit there, amazed, wondering how they have accomplished so much. Sports were very different in former generations. They have evolved, for better or for worse, depending on who you ask.

In the past, the mentality was to do what you were told and to do, whatever it takes to win. We sat down in the “Old Cronies” corner at the Montgomery football game last week and were surprised at what we were told. One gentleman shared that back in his playing days the team

had a curfew. “You better be in your house when the time came because the coach would drive around and make sure.”

When Friday nights rolled around, the home stands were full of cheering fans. Regardless of the hometown, many current games now have empty spaces in their home bleachers.

The gentlemen all agreed that there are not many similarities left connecting our generations. However, after talking to some more recent athletes, we were encouraged to find a few.

The major similarity is inside that helmet. Both generations told a few stories about the type of athletes that exist. One type is the “athlete” that just stands around and takes up space. Another type is the one who believes they are “it.” “Those are the ones that are out there just for themselves. They will do anything to make themselves look good, even at the expense of their own team.” Finally, there’s the athlete that will lay their bodies on the line for their team. “Those are the leaders.”

Football, and sports in general, will continue to evolve. Rules will continue to change. Players will continue to leave and be replaced with new ones. But, on all of those new teams, there will always be athletes and there will always be leaders. Which one were/are you?