Finally Friday! Year-End "Awards" Nominees

Since the amount of money in Finally Friday's budget is equal to the amount I get paid for the blog (hint: $0.00), I have no fancy plaques or framed certificates to give out to our deserving winners and finalists for the first "Best of Finally Friday!" awards.  You can simply take pride in the fact that a truly independent observer like myself appreciates what you do and how you do it.

North Davidson vs Davie Pregame Video

Now that my knees don't hurt from running up and down the sidelines all night on Friday, I found time to piece together the all the video and audio I took.  Let's start with the scene prior to the kick.  Make no mistake, this was as fine an atmosphere as you'll find at a game on ANY level. Here's what I saw during pregame on Friday:

Back to School- In the Bleachers' Michael Felder!

Today, Finally Friday! is happy to introduce a new feature: Back to School!  I've had so much fun with the Pop Quiz feature that I decided to profile some former student-athletes who have gone on to bright futures and get their recollections of their days on campus.  We couldn't ask for a better victim, er, participant to kick things off, either. 

If you are a sports junkie like me, chances are you follow @inthebleachers, the Twitter handle for college football writer extraordinare Michael Felder.  Not only is he the lead national college football writer for Bleacher Report, his website is home to one of the most popular podcasts in college football.  He is also a prolific tweeter, and should be your go-to guy if you want a blow-by-blow of the Today Show or Archer.  However, please don't ask him to analyze college basketball.

On second thought, please do...it's very entertaining to the rest of us. Anyway,

Ladies and Gentlemen:  Michael Felder!

1) Identify yourself!

Michael Felder: East Meck 2003, UNC-Chapel Hill

2) Exactly how big is your sports media empire?

Empire is so misleading; I just do a little bit of stuff for a lot of bit of folks. My main job is as lead national college football writer for Bleacher Report. I also own and operate InTheBleachers.net, contribute at Crystal Ball Run and do plenty of radio and podcasting as well. I'm happy in my little corner of the internet.

3)  You were kind of a big deal in high school, which is hard to do in the ultra-competitive arena that is Charlotte football.  I read where you were actually nominated for the Wendy's High School Heisman at one point.  How does a student-athlete deal with those kinds of accolades and attention while staying grounded and taking care of business?

Honestly, for me it never seemed like that stuff was that big of a deal. My head coach, Scott Stein now at Sun Valley, and my parents didn't exactly let me get over skis in that arena. It also helped that I had this truly burning desire to be the best I could. For me, football was an exercise in hard work and I always wanted more success, more wins and the like.

Oh and my parents were both teachers while I was in school. They've since moved to administration, but during that time they were teachers and school always came first and it wasn't really a negotiable thing.

 4) As a former college athlete, do you ever have the opportunity to counsel young players on what to expect with the recruiting process and the transition to college?

I've done it at times in the past. I like getting out and talking to kids; the good thing about my folks being involved in schools as administrators is there is always a student of their's that i can help and they don't hesitate to ask. For me, honestly, the recruiting process and transition always is secondary to taking care of business in high school and picking the right school. If you can do those first two things, the recruiting process and transition become so much easier.

5) What, if anything, do you miss about Football Fridays in high school?  Was it a positive thing for you or stressful because of all the attention?

I miss winning the most. That's plain and simple. The attention didn't matter to much, I went out and played football for my teammates and they were the only people I was concerned with. The stress was very real from an internal standpoint. My team was 3-8 when I was a freshman playing varsity and as we got better, eventually going 14-2 my junior year, I knew I didn't want to feel that losing feeling of my freshman year ever again. So I put a lot of pressure on myself and worked overtime because I didn't want to be the reason we didn't win every game.

6) I have to ask, since I've asked everyone else: One Direction or Justin Bieber?

Gimme the Biebs! Saw both of them perform during my daily Today Show viewing and Bieber easily blew away the EuroPop sensation.

7) You tweet a lot, and you specifically tweet a lot about food.  I'm headed to North Davidson this week, and they have a healthy tailgate scene (you'd love it- the town smells like barbecue).  Care to share a tailgate recipe with my readers?

I'm a North Carolina boy, through and through, so I've got to go with pulled pork. On Saturdays when I'm not traveling and I'm home all day I like to put a pork shoulder on the smoker in the early morning. Let him cook low and slow for several hours and then enjoy with some Eastern NC sauce lightly doused on it.

8) Do you find you like football better as a player, a fan, or a sportswriter?  The one thing I worry about as a budding writer is that I'll lose my love as a fan.

Player, then sportswriter and last as a fan. Truth be told I've never had the big fan experience that most folks have had so I don't really get into it that way. I went from playing and watching critically to writing and watching critically; I've never had that "just follow the ball" and "soak it all up" element to football viewing.

There are a lot of writers that are still as fan-ish as anyone, if you want to retain it you most certainly can.

9) We have an epidemic right now of played-out cheers in both high school and college student sections.  If I hear 'Seven Nation Army' one more time I may snap.  Any ideas to help reverse this trend?

Haha, turn your ears off? Honestly, I have no clue. We hear the same songs, the same generic cheers all over the country. I doubt they'll go away; and when they do a new one pops up to replace it. For what it's worth, I'm a big fan of "Hold That Line" and "Sack That Quarterback."

10) Finally, if you have one piece of advice to give to a current student-athlete, what would it be?

You get out what you put in. For me that meant blood, sweat, tears, a little vomit and a lot of time; but what I got out of it was an unbelievable high school football experience. I have really good high school friends who put in less, got less out of it but they were happy with what they received from a sports experience as well. I truly believe that as long as you're happy with what you're putting in; being true to yourself about what it all means to you, that you'll come away with a fulfilling experience.

I'd like to thank Michael for graciously answering our Back to School questions.  He's a good sport and a great writer!

For more on Michael, please go to the links I posted above, or search for his stuff on the Interwebs.  He's not hard to find at all! 

Suddenly Sunday

True Southern football is an all-consuming experience best characterized by cool weather, hot grills, and a passion that is without rival.  On Friday night in Welcome, the best of Southern football came together to produce a hard-hitting conference opener that saw the host North Davidson Black Knights finally topple the Mount Tabor Spartans in a 7-6 defensive struggle.

The scene I encountered on Friday night was straight out of a Hollywood script.  Although the weather was less than favorable (a line of thunderstorms had delayed kickoffs across the central Piedmont), I followed a long stream of taillights bound for a singular destination.  I exited my car, saw the bright lights of Palmer Field in the distance, and was immediately overcome by the wonderful smells of fried chicken and barbecue.  The fact that the Spartans were in town promised a special evening of football, indeed, but the atmosphere was heightened by the fact that the Black Knights were also celebrating Homecoming.

I have been searching all season for "the buzz", the feeling I get when the football stars align and produce a special night.  North Davidson delivered within thirty seconds of my arrival.

After setting up shop in the press box, I grabbed my toys and went hunting.  It was not long until I encountered a group of students hovering by the end zone watching their "guests" warm up.  I enjoyed a good conversation with Caleb and his friends.

One of the things that Caleb (middle) let me know was that their chief rivalry was now Mount Tabor.  When I was in high school, the rivalry between North Davidson and Lexington was fraught with intensity and bad intentions.  Now, things have changed.  The link above should play in your favorite media player.

At halftime I sauntered down to the field to make a visit to the student section and met some really enthusiastic students who were more than happy to talk to Finally Friday!.

Hopefully I get some Pop Quiz! contestants from this year's Homecoming Court.  I will post them as soon as I get them back.  In the meantime, Mason Linker of the Winston-Salem Journal provides the particulars of the game here .  I am always happy to share a space with someone I can learn from, and Mason is no different. 

Pop Quiz! Catherine Wayne- Mount Tabor High School

I love it when a plan comes together.  My idea for the Pop Quiz! segment was to find the best and the brightest students that our area high schools had to offer, and give them a chance to represent their schools and themselves in an online forum. So far, I've yet to be disappointed.

This week's participant comes to us from Mount Tabor High School, at the recommendation of Principal Ed Weiss himself.  She is the President of the student body which, as I found out, entails so many duties that I included a link to the full description.

Frankly, she humbles me a bit.  As a matter of fact, everyone I've interviewed to date has humbled (shamed?) me.  When I was in high school, my responsibility list was as follows:

1. Go to school.
2. Work at the car wash across from school.
3. The end.

Anyway, before I get too wistful about my own shortcomings, I'm happy to introduce you to Miss Catherine Wayne.  Cat?

Cat rolls the Quad at Wake Forest

1)     Identify yourself! Name, school, age and class please!

Catherine Allie Wayne, Mount Tabor Spartan, 17, Senior.

2)     What is your claim to fame? What do you do? (Sports, clubs, class offices, etc.)

I am Mount Tabor’s Student Council President and I am in several clubs in addition to student council. The thought of me playing a sport is pretty funny, but I did try out for women’s lacrosse freshman year for what it’s worth.

3)     So I Googled your name and it took me to the Student Council section of the Tabor website (http://www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/Page/6308).  The description of the President’s position seems like a lot of work.  What does it take to execute your job as President as well as do your homework?

Wednesdays mean Student Council. Each Wednesday, except for one a month, I have either an Upper House, Lower House, or Officer meeting. While I have a ton of work to do in this role, the student council sponsor Mr. Allen Smith makes it so fun and so easy to handle. I am lucky to have the world’s coolest and most hilarious officers working with me so we always mess around while getting our work done.  I have really hunkered down with some seriously hard classes this year. The good news is I have a free period where I can tackle as much homework as I can so I can have more of my afternoons free. My best friend Will and I do homework together every night so this makes sitting for hours on end working so much better.

4)     What makes Mount Tabor special to you?  Why does it stand out?

What makes Tabor special to me? I could do some serious word count damage on this question. When I walked into Mount Tabor freshman year, I knew that I was home. There is something about the old hallways and the people at Tabor that make it so welcoming and comfortable. As the years have gone on, I have had the pleasure of working with some of the most active administrators and devoted teachers. Tabor stands out from all other high schools because of our roots in tradition. From our amazing drumline to our annual homecoming dodge ball tournament, there are so many things that make Mount Tabor unique.

5)     One Direction or Justin Bieber?  Go.

I’m not going to say that I don’t have Justin Bieber’s CD in my car at this very second. I’m also not going to say that I know all the words to all of the songs on it. That’s pretty much all I don’t have to say about that.

6)     Give me three reasons why a Spartan is better than a Demon.

1) Our student section is easily eight-hundred times better and more spirited than that of Reynolds. They have the same three cheers while we have a beautiful variety in our artillery of spirit.

2) Our mascot is a Spartan who is ready to go into battle at any second for Sparta’s honor while Reynolds’ mascot is Lucifer himself.

3) I’m not sure about the exact numbers on this one, but I think the last time Reynolds beat us in football was at least 5000 years ago. Our football team reigns superior to theirs.

 Disclaimer: That was all in jest, Reynolds is a great school and they have a lot going for them.

7)     I covered the East Forsyth game at Mount Tabor a few weeks ago.  Like a lot of other schools playing the Eagles this year, the score wasn’t in your favor but the student section was WAY crazy.  My blog was hours old at that time and I was just live-tweeting the game.  Give me the rundown on Tabor City.

Eleven things everyone needs to know about Tabor City:

1. There is no feeling like the anticipation of the third quarter festivities at our football games, home or away.

2. To be in the student section, one MUST be dressed up and cheering (even the freshmen).

3. If we are losing, a halftime monologue will be delivered to the entire student section by one senior (a favorite is the halftime speech from the movie MIRACLE).

4. When third quarter rolls around and the drum line walks up the track, the crowd goes WILD.

5. During the drumline piece "H2O" everyone is singing and dancing while throwing water from water bottles everywhere, I always leave soaked.

6. DON’T THROW THE BOTTLES AFTER H20

7. We keep things "Dash Appropriate" (If you wouldn't yell it at one of our beloved Advanced Single A Winston-Salem Dash games, we don't yell it at our games).

8. Never sit down unless it's halftime or you WILL get yelled at.

9. Always let the seniors have the front row; the grades are organized in descending order the further up in the stands you go.

10. Corbin “ATM” Martin (44) is probably the most fun player to cheer for. You may even hear an “ATM” chant at the game.

11. Friday night football holds a very special place in the senior’s hearts and I know it will be one of the things we will all miss about Mount Tabor High School.

8)     I’m guessing as Student Council President you have some idea of your future.  What are your plans after high school? (College, professional ambition, etc.)

I want to attend Wake Forest University and double major in Political Science and Economics. Whenever I tell people this they say, “Wow, that’s pretty specific”. It really is, but at the same time I have known that I want to be a business lawyer for some time now. I can’t wait to get into college so I can start to specialize in these areas and get into the nitty gritty of my majors.

9)     When you leave Mount Tabor next year, what will you look back on as the defining moment in your high school career, or has that happened yet?

I think my defining moment at Mount Tabor High School was giving my first speech in front of hundreds of people. I had the honor of speaking at Senior Awards Day last year as the newly elected president. Freshman year I had to recite a monologue in front of my World History class and I was a nervous wreck. I don’t know why I was, I was speaking in front of just twenty people but nonetheless I was shaking, stuttering, and beet red. I honestly don’t know where I found my confidence to speak in front of people, but getting offstage at Awards Day with the entire senior class and their families cheering for me is a feeling I will never forget.

10)  Last question.  You get to have dinner with three leaders (politicians, coaches, preachers, etc.). Who are they and what are you going to talk about?

If I could have dinner with any three people I would choose President Jackson, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun. I would love to sit back and watch them argue about States’ Rights, the Fiscal Policy, as well as the “Corrupt Bargain”. I have always been interested in the Jacksonian Era and I would love to sit down with these three men and hear them debate. 

Want to try the Pop Quiz? Know someone who should?  Keep checking this blog, Twitter or the Facebook page to find out where I'll be next.

Cheer of the Year, Part II

Now  that we know that the letters "N" and "A" spell "Na", we can move on to the other candidate for Cheer of the Year.  The Pit Bosses told me that they had a cheer for me to video.  So I took the video.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rollercoaster:

Cheer of the Year, Part I

Attention all student sections!

I love all the student sections I've seen and heard this season, but last night I heard the leaders in the clubhouse for Cheers of the Year.  Now, I also heard the waaaaay overplayed "Seven Nation Army" and "You can't do that", but I also heard two cheers that just made me laugh.

Note:  these may well have been stolen from someone else.  In fact, like all good cheers they probably are.  However, they are new to me and I had not heard them before last night.  Here is Cheer of the Year number 1a:

It starts with, "Gimme an 'N', Gimee an 'A'" and I'll let the Crew take it from there: