I only had to pay History $20 to write that!

 

Money not received.

Whoa... as good as last year's team? You're setting the bar pretty high there. I do hope that come mid-December we are all getting a chance to debate whether this year's team matches up favorably with last year's HHS squad. It's going to be a tall order, though.

 

I don't really know a thing about how this season will go for Highlands. It sounds like several HHS fans on BGP are thinking a state title is a strong possibility. We'll all soon see how the season plays itself out.

 

I will say this: I remember hearing stories from some Highlands fans during the year when this year's Highlands seniors were freshmen, about how there were some issues with that frosh team and that 2010 was going to be a "down" year for Highlands as a result. Given how well several of this year's seniors played last year, and how hard the players have been working this offseason, it's a real tribute to the HHS coaching staff and also to last year's seniors (who served as outstanding role models for this year's crop) that the team is in the position they're in on the cusp of the 2010 season. This group of players bears a pretty heavy burden to carry: three straight 5A titles, a 28-game win streak and a 41-game win streak against KY competition. That's a lot to live up to. I wish this group of HHS student-athletes all the best as they do their part in carrying the heavy torch that is Highlands football. Your fans are behind you. Go 'Birds!

 

If I may respectfully disagree my friend, a whole lot of people wouldn't call it a burden at all. I'd look at it as an opportunity: the opportunity to be part of the team that extended the streaks you referenced as long as possible. I seriously doubt you will find any Highlands players that go into a game thinking " aa oh, if we lose this game, the streak is over". The mentality is completely different than that. It's more of a " we are going to win this game because we are Highlands, we've worked harder and we are better than our opponent" mentality. True or not, that's what they believe in their hearts and minds.

 

I have a feeling that if you asked Boyle fans, their streak ended not because of the kids were unable to handle the pressure or burden. They simply got beat; the streak ended; life moved on and the kids attempted to start another streak. They didn't crack; they just got beat. It happens.

 

This group of kids has had to deal with a streak before I believe. Hadn't the frosh teams had a long winning streak of games back to back leading into the year the seniors were frosh? Something like 33-0 over the prior years? When the seniors were frosh, the streak came to an end as I recall. They dealt with it fine and remained focused well enough to make it to the frosh championship game. One can never know what would have happened in that game had the starting frosh not been injured and the back up frosh qb had more than one or two practices after having been out for several weeks with a back injury. None of them jumped off a bridge when the frosh winning streak ended and I seriously doubt if any of the players will jump off a bridge IF any of the varsity streaks ends this year. Heck the kids and coaches will handle it better than some fans. Pressure is being out of work with mortgage invoices still coming and a family to support; pressure is landing the deal that will keep your business afloat; pressure is a lot of things but pressure is not winning a football game to keep some winning streak alive. The players may be young but I've got a lot of confidence that the coaches will keep those things in perspective for the boys and hopefully the Highlands fans will do the same.

 

Hope this post doesn't come across too critical of you JB, because that is not my intent. I just think the whole "burden felt by the kids to keep the streaks alive" stuff is way over blown. :thumb:

LN, of course I will defer to you on matters related to the Highlands football program, and I am sure that my comments about the burden of the winning tradition were overstated.

 

I know that it's easy for a team's fans to get really excited about their program going undefeated when the team has done so well in recent years. I just worry a bit that some of the Highlands fans assume too much when they predict another 15-0 season and continued dominance over NKY. The reason it worries me is that I think perhaps some of these fans will start pointing fingers at the HHS coaching staff or questioning the players' desire/work ethic if Highlands happens to lose some games in 2010. Not all Highlands teams are created equally, and it's too much to expect that every year's squad will have an Austin Collinsworth, Brandon Roller, Will Bardo, Hunter Schlosser, Tyler Grubbs and Nick Buten on it. As LN and others have pointed out, this current group of seniors have matured and improved a great deal while progressing through Highlands. Are they good enough to play well this year? I am sure they are. Are they good enough to go 15-0? I don't know... only time will tell. If there are some stumbling blocks along the way, I just hope the HHS fans don't start playing the blame game. It would not be fair to the current Highlands players and coaches.

 

This blame game has been played before. I remember some people grumbling in 2001 after Highlands started the year off 0-2. Heck, I was stupidly one of the grumblers. That year, Highlands entered the season having won the previous three state titles and was preseason ranked 2nd in all of Kentucky (regardless of football class), behind only one of the big Louisville Catholic schools. Does this not sound eerily similar to the position Highlands is in right now? In 2005, there was a TON of second guessing of the HHS coaches and team chemistry after HHS struggled against teams like Colerain, Lou. St. X, Columbus DeSales and LexCath. I am sure those HHS players on the 2005 team worked very hard and were very dedicated. However, they didn't have nearly as much depth or athletic ability as the 2004 championship squad did.

 

I only hope that Highlands fans keep things in perspective this season and support the team the same, whether they go 10-0 or 0-10.

LN, of course I will defer to you on matters related to the Highlands football program, and I am sure that my comments about the burden of the winning tradition were overstated.

 

I know that it's easy for a team's fans to get really excited about their program going undefeated when the team has done so well in recent years. I just worry a bit that some of the Highlands fans assume too much when they predict another 15-0 season and continued dominance over NKY. The reason it worries me is that I think perhaps some of these fans will start pointing fingers at the HHS coaching staff or questioning the players' desire/work ethic if Highlands happens to lose some games in 2010. Not all Highlands teams are created equally, and it's too much to expect that every year's squad will have an Austin Collinsworth, Brandon Roller, Will Bardo, Hunter Schlosser, Tyler Grubbs and Nick Buten on it. As LN and others have pointed out, this current group of seniors have matured and improved a great deal while progressing through Highlands. Are they good enough to play well this year? I am sure they are. Are they good enough to go 15-0? I don't know... only time will tell. If there are some stumbling blocks along the way, I just hope the HHS fans don't start playing the blame game. It would not be fair to the current Highlands players and coaches.

 

This blame game has been played before. I remember some people grumbling in 2001 after Highlands started the year off 0-2. Heck, I was stupidly one of the grumblers. That year, Highlands entered the season having won the previous three state titles and was preseason ranked 2nd in all of Kentucky (regardless of football class), behind only one of the big Louisville Catholic schools. Does this not sound eerily similar to the position Highlands is in right now? In 2005, there was a TON of second guessing of the HHS coaches and team chemistry after HHS struggled against teams like Colerain, Lou. St. X, Columbus DeSales and LexCath. I am sure those HHS players on the 2005 team worked very hard and were very dedicated. However, they didn't have near as much depth or athletic ability as the 2004 championship squad did.

 

I only hope that Highlands fans keep things in perspective this season and support the team the same, whether they go 10-0 or 0-10.

 

In that light, I understand your point. Hopefully the the other grumblers have learned as you have. I don't care how good your program is, you can't win them all year in and year out. As long as the coaches and players perform to the best of their abilities, no one should grumble.