If you’ve been around me for the past few years, you probably know how much a sports fan I am, especially about high school football. This includes some great matchups, titanic struggles, and even a state title game. Or two. In a row. All I have seen. In person.
This is not necessarily about why the state championships of football remain in the Canton/Massillon area, of how Northeast Ohio isn’t exactly Central Ohio, why some now defunct superstadiums (Cleveland Municipal, Riverfront, Busch) are still better facilities than Fawcett is, and why most fans throughout the state could care less about the history of the professional level.
It’s about how 35,000 show up to see one game in one of the best (IMO) football facilities ever built, Paul brown Stadium (and combined 42,000 fans for two games yesterday) – and yet the next round is held at some 11,000 seat place in Middletown. Even the officials here in Cincinnati didn’t estimate how many could show up to see St. Xavier play Colerain on a very nice day in a world-class stadium, as the several ticket windows, even if almost all in use, couldn’t keep pace with the ticket demand. At around 6:00, things got so crazy that police decided to open the floodgates to fans – even those without tickets.
As the game was in session in the first quarter, fans were seen entering sections in the fully-cushioned Club Level. Generally, unless the Sideline/Plaza level bowl was full, the upper Club and Canopy levels were closed off. And so, I attempted to make my way up to the Club Level via the west elevators, stadium staff informed us they were coming up to shut down the Club Level. So I sat elsewhere.
Then, not later on, I saw the Club fill up later on in the first quarter, again, but only because the latecoming Bomber fans were still pouring in. And so, both the east and west club areas were open - but not the Club Lounges! This meant that fans, if they wanted to get to the better, more central club seats, they had to climb around separator railings to access these seats – one safety hazard. Plus, if people wanted to get to the club lounges to use restrooms or, better yet, evacuate in case of an emergency, the doors were locked – yet another safety hazard. If stadium officials didn’t want lowly prep football fans in the Club area, they should have directed us to the Canopy level and opened up the escalators. Guess this proves some people are slower learners than others
That, or some of the people behind Kings Island’s massive ticket giveaway for closing weekend have new jobs at the home of the Bengals.
I can’t go well in-depth now, but I will say that the game itself was memorable. The two teams, the Colerain Cardinals and St. Xavier Bombers, managed to score only 6 points apiece in regulaton, only through field goals. And so, Colerain got a field goal in their downs allotted. But as soon as the Bombers got the ball – they scored. Lightning fast. It was so fast, there was some movement in the end zone. And then the field erupted into a show of blue.
Colerain was an outstanding team, as they were last year. They just couldn’t get past St. X this year (Colerain lost in the first game of the season as well, to the Bombers, 7-0), otherwise going undefeated. The 12-0 St. X team now faces Huber Heights Wayne, who got past the Centerville Elks 29-28 in the first game of the doubleheader. Wayne’s only loss was to Elder in the season opener.
Maybe after finding out how popular high school football in this region, the OHSAA will find a more appropriate venue. Like they have last year, such as the renovated Yager Stadium at Miami University in Oxford. It’s as neutral as Middletown Barnitz, but simply bigger and better. If they move the game to Yager (or better yet, Nippert at UC) I’ll go on Saturday. As long as it doesn’t interfere with the Michigan-Ohio State game. GO BLUE!
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