I received the following email a couple of weeks ago and thought it would be good to post. Anytime enthusiastic kids come out to support girls basketball is a plus. It follows:
On a recent Tuesday I had the honor to witness the best High School fans in Texas during the Smithson Valley vs. Kerrville Tivy Girls Varsity game. I've been to many Middle School and High School games both in California and Texas and have NEVER witness this type of enthusiasm for High School girls basketball, not even during the playoffs.
Let me start out by painting the picture. A small school out in the middle of nowhere, Kerrville, Tivy High School, grounds are manicured nicely, outside painted nicely, inside halls are nicely painted and no graffiti to frown at, just a small town that you would love to raise your children in. Then you walk into this gymnasium, they call themselves the Antlers, with brand new hardwood flooring, there is no resistance abiding by the annoying sign that screams, "NO FOOD, NO DRINKS in the Gym". As you walk into the gym you get startled by the Antlers busting out of the wall, and busting out of the gym floor, such a mural sure to intimidate any visiting team. The gym has seating on both sides of the court and you can't miss the schools name engraved in yellow on perfectly placed seats across the way "TIVY".
Now that you have a picture of this beautiful gym let me tell you about the most impressive part. On the far end of the court they strategically placed a student section. It can probably hold 100 students. I attended the Smithson Valley game and about 35 young high school students, mostly boys, came out to support their Varsity girls basketball team,a wonderful site to say the least. Let me tell you it was a treat! They held signs, they chanted, they stomped their feet, and I don't even think they sat down for a second! It reminded me of Cameron Stadium, no joke! The boys start out by making a distinctive sound every time SV dribbled the ball (pweeee pweeee pweeee pweeeee pweeee) and another sound when SV would pass the ball (whewwwwww, whewwwwww, whewwwww, whewww) it was so contagious that they had my 9 year old doing it. Forget about free throws for SV my ears are still ringing from that. These boys where not just trying to be annoying to the opponent they where actually following the game. In a early SV position, in the second quarter, SV's point guard took a shot from about 18 ft and it was tipped and did not hit rim, "air ball", well it really wasn't an air ball due to the tip but to these enthusiastic "Cheer Leaders" it was an "AIR BALL". So now you can imagine what these boys did for the rest of the game when SV's PG touched ball, oh yes, they chanted "AIR BALL...AIR BALL AIR BALL the entire time she had the ball in her hand and when I tell you the ENTIRE time, I mean the ENTIRE TIME. It didn't matter if she was 80 ft from the basket or 2 ft from the basket...... let me tell you this arena is not for the mentally week! I urge all you basketball enthusiast to take the time and witness this spectacle, I plan on returning!
