Where’s The Fire In The Tigers?
I feel it’s pretty safe to say everyone has been to a football game at this point. But, it seems lately that something is plaguing the football team, leading to their poor record of 1-10. I want to explore what’s plaguing the team and if there’s anything that can be done or should be done to fix it.
The first person I questioned said they would like to remain anonymous. This person has gone to every home game since freshman year. Being part of the pep band, he was forced to go to the games. I asked how he used to feel about the football games in middle school and freshman year when the team was doing really well. He said. “They were a ton of fun. All of my friends went. It was just fun.” But, then sophomore year he noticed a steep decline in the football team’s performance. He noted that: “The coach left and the 2020 class had left.” The 2020 team was a massive group of 22 seniors. The 2020 team won every game, scored 171 points, had only 68 points scored against them, and got first place in the Cape Ann League. The next year in 2021 the Tigers only had 1 win; they scored 181 points, but it was clear that their defense took a massive blow with 348 points scored against them. The trend of having too many points scored against them continues.
I asked the interviewee if their record has changed how you view the sport? He solemnly replied: “I don’t go to the games anymore because it’s not fun to watch your team get trashed by another team.” My last question of the interview was what he saw as the biggest problem in the team. He said, “There have been a lot of injuries; people are just getting re-injured. The team is also really young. There’s only six seniors and with all the injuries it’s been more like four.”
The second person I interviewed was Johnny Kilgour who played football at IHS on the 2020 team. He didn’t get to play his senior year due to an ankle injury from a longboarding accident. However, he still went to every game of the year. Johnny was part of the 2021 class that had the impeccable 6 and 0 record. I asked why he thinks the team did so well. He said: “The coaching was extremely good, and when the class left there were so few seniors.” I asked him what the team dynamics were like and he said: “It was extremely energetic.” Although Johnny didn’t get to play because of his ankle injury, he still went to every game he could. I remember going to these games as a freshman. These were the only games I stuck around for. Years prior to this year I would always go off and play under the bleachers, but there was something different about this team; they captured your attention in an unrelenting grip.
The last person I interviewed was Eric Mazzio. Eric is a team captain and has been on the team since sophomore year. My first question was what he sees as some of the problems the team is facing? His response was very similar to my first interview participant. He said: “ Freshman year there were 22 seniors and that’s partly why the team was so good. But when that class left there were only 9. It has also been hard to maintain the players. The players are getting tired and then they get hurt. There have also been some small things here and there that prevent our team from being one hundred percent.” There have definitely been a lot of injuries on the team this year.
I asked him to elaborate on what he sees as the biggest problem? “The number of kids. We can’t fill the roster and when people get hurt other kids have to fill in for a position that they have never played before and are more likely to get hurt.” This is not something that was brought up in other conversations but I feel that it gives a good insight on why kids are getting hurt so often. I asked if there is anything that can be done to fix some of the problems? He said, “We need a bigger crew. I think having high school players talk to kids in middle school about playing and having players inform the parents because there’s a lot of misconceptions about football would help. Things like concussions can be prevented. Kids have to have good awareness and stay athletic. People are not aware of their surroundings so people are not bracing for hits and that’s when they get hurt.” My final question remained the same. Has the record of the team changed how you feel about the sport? Without hesitation he said: “No, I’ve gotten a lot out of football.” I asked him if he could elaborate? He went on, “Yeah, it’s been like a second family for me. Winning or losing is not as important as people think it is. We learned to adapt and push through tough times. We created memories together that form that family.”
Eric highlights something very important about playing a sport. Playing baseball myself it is really easy to get wrapped up in the fact that winning is the most important thing, when it truly is not. Playing a sport can teach you how to let things go. Sports also help build connections between classmates which can make you feel part of a community or a “family”. I think playing a sport can be very helpful for so many kids for that reason. I think the biggest problem about the football team are the age of the players and how many players there are. I like Eric’s idea about educating parents and kids on the benefits of football and how to be safe. Also our overall team is very young and having only 4 seniors actually playing certainly doesn’t help. However, if the team keeps up the tenacity and continues loving the sport, I think they could have a bright future.
