The Wit and Wisdom of David Johnson
The Championship
From the Aug 5, 2025 e-EditionI sometimes feel sorry for people who live in large cities. Actually, I feel sorry for them most of the time, because they’ll never get to experience what the small town I live in just experienced.
You see, we have one school system with one elementary school, one middle school and one high school. Because of that, there’re no divided loyalties when it comes to rooting for a team.
Yesterday, our high school football team won the state championship in their division, a feat never achieved before. Stores, businesses, and all three schools were closed for the day so people could either travel the four hours to where the game was played, or to listen to it on the radio, or watch it on TV. If you had driven through town while the game was being played, you’d have thought it was a ghost town. In the stadium though, and in individual houses, there was shouting, groaning, and cheering (and probably swearing at officials).
We knew all the players, or if we didn’t know them personally, we knew their parents or their grandparents, or aunts, uncles, or cousins. We thought about how proud their family must be of the boys or how proud they’d be if they were still living. And if one of the players made a bad play, they were given a measure of forgiveness because, “That’s Polly’s boy. I’m sure he’s doing the best he can.”
I imagine the players view the victory as their team’s. But they need to understand the team is bigger than just them. The team belongs to our town—it’s our team. We all feel like we won even though we never played a down.
As I drove through downtown after the game to pick up a pizza, there were no rioters celebrating by burning cars and looting stores. Who would think of doing such a thing?! Why would we destroy our friend’s business? Why demolish property? Only a fool would act that way.
Today we all get to enjoy the afterglow of the championship.
It’s a good feeling.
Yeah, I like living in a small town.
* Taken from The Wit and Wisdom of David Johnson, Volume I1: The Hairy Catfish Caper.
In the e-Edition
McKenzie Banner August 5, 2025
Aug 5, 2025 · Read the full issue →
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