The support for high school football is astronomical in Texas. On Friday nights there are a few local businesses that shut down just to go out and support the teams. Everybody loves to be a part of the great Texas high school sports atmosphere, big hits, and the large crowds. Others states think that they are comparable to Texas when it comes to football, but the disparity is obvious. In Texas, football is a culture and here are a few reasons to prove it.
1. Did you think huge scoreboards were reserved for professional sports? Think again! In Texas, high school stadiums come equipped with high-definition "jumbotrons" to match the jumbo-sized pride that runs through the veins of Texans.
2. Speaking of stadiums, Texas is home to some of the largest – if not the largest – high school football stadiums in the U.S. Both historical and gigantic, San Antonio's newly renovated Alamo Stadium seats 23,000 fans. Further north in Allen, you'll find the infamous $60 million Eagle Stadium, which took two years to build.
3. Football is such a big deal in small town Decatur that Halloween was moved up by a day because it interfered with the final home game of the season. It's THAT serious.
4. The entire population of small towns can be found cheering at the stadium on any given fall Friday night.
5. Some of the best high school football movies and TV shows, like "Friday Night Lights" and "Varsity Blues," are based on high school football in the Lone Star State.
6. Mum is the word. Not only are homecoming mums a Texas-based tradition, no other place has them this big.
7. Texas high school football players are passionate about their sport and are not shy to show it. Take Apollos Hester of East View High School, for example, whose postgame interview with TWC News Austin's Lauren Mickler became a motivational speech that gained nationwide attention. https://youtu.be/X7ymriMhoj0
8. Tiny Texans get a head start. Programs like the Texas Youth Football and Cheer Association are aimed at stimulating interest in the sport early in boys and girls, ages 4.
9. Although Texas is known for its temperamental weather, fans pack stadiums to cheer on their teams rain or shine, in the scorching heat or blistering wind.
10. Texas ranked high on Bleacher Report's list of Top 10 States of the 2014 College Recruiting Class with 39 four-star players and three five-star players.
11. High school football pride does not just revolve around the pigskin – it includes the band, too. For 76 years in San Antonio, high school marching bands have had their own chance to duel on the field during the Battle of the Flowers Band Festival, as part of the city's Fiesta celebration. To conclude the show, 3,000 musicians from the competing schools perform on the field for a Texas-sized finale1.
A Friday night football game is an important event for families in the lone star state. To conclude this blog I am going to post a list of the attendance for college bowl games, Texas state championship attendance and other states attendance and let you decide how serious you think we are.
1. Rose Bowl: 95,173
2. Sugar Bowl: 70,473
3. Chick-Fil-A Bowl: 67,946
4. Alamo Bowl: 65,918
5. Fiesta Bowl: 65,172
6. Gator Bowl: 60,712
7. Liberty Bowl: 57,846
8. Capital One Bowl: 56,629
9. New Orleans Bowl: 54,728
10. Texas Class 5A Division I state championship: 54,347
11. Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: 53,284
12. Holiday Bowl: 52,930
13. Music City Bowl: 52,125
14. Outback Bowl: 51,296
15. Russell Athletic Bowl: 51,098
16. Sun Bowl: 47,912
17. Pinstripe Bowl: 47,122
18. Belk Bowl: 45,211
19. Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl: 42,178
20. Armed Forces Bowl: 39,246
21. Heart of Dallas Bowl: 38,380
22. AdvoCare v100 Bowl: 36,917
23. Fight Hunger Bowl: 34,136
24. Texas Class 4A Division II state championship: 33,745
25. Texas Bowl: 32,327
26. Texas Class 5A Division II state championship: 30,285
27. Military Bowl: 30,163
28. Hawaii Bowl: 29,106
29. Gildan New Mexico Bowl: 27,104
30. Little Caesars Bowl: 26,259
31. Poinsettia Bowl: 23,408
32. Texas Class 3A Division II state championship: 22,071
33. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: 21,951
34. Texas Class 4A Division I state championship: 20,142
35. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl: 20,053
36. California Open Division state championship: 16,791
37. Florida Class 8A state championship: 9,9792
1 11 reasons Texas is the high school football capital of the world (KENS 5)
http://www.kens5.com/story/sports/high-school/2014/10/21/11-reasons-why-texas-is-the-high-school-football-capital-of-the-world/17671047/
2 How attendance at Texas high school state championships stack up against other states, college bowl games (High School Sports Blog)
http://highschoolsportsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/how-attendance-at-texas-high-school-state-championships-stack-up-against-college-bowl-games.html/
Texas is definitely at a different level when it comes to high school football. Its insane that State competitions bring in more attendance than NCAA bowl games.
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