By Joe Joe Wright

joejoe.wright@cordeledispatch.com

As most people know I love history and so on this date in history. On August 5^th 1962 Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her bedroom. The first man to walk on the moon Neil Armstrong  was born. Mark McGwire hit his 500^th homerun. You  see many great historic events have happened just on this day alone. I will add one more!!!! On this date August 5^th, 2017 the Crisp County Cougars have just had opening day of school on a historical year in football. Oh yeah it’s also my brother Phillips birthday, he is 62.

I went out to watch the boys practice in pads for the first time this fall and they looked pretty sharp. I have seen many years of great expectations in our football program over the last 40 plus years that I have followed Cougar football. Last year was full of hopes and dreams at the start of the season and many of the wants were met. The same in 1995 the same thing as it was 1981 and 1980 and 1974. These were all years of real promise for everyone and for the most part they were great years. The fall of 2017 will go down in history as the year of greatest expectation. We have a fundamentally great team, loaded with D-1 athletes and an excellent coaching staff. We have tremendous hometown support and electricity fills the air in Crisp County. Yes by all means the Cougars are primed with 17 out of 22 positions on the football field filled with a returning starter and a massive line.

Now the tough part! Every championship team from every sport for every year that has ever been played and in every level from Rec. Ball to the Pros has one common denominator. “CATCHING A BREAK”, you have to catch a break somewhere to win a title.  There is not a single team anyone can name that has ever won that hasn’t “CAUGHT A BREAK” so here is praying for a break. Lord let our injuries be light and modest, let the officiating be straight and accurate, let the coaching be canny and intuitive, let the players be arduous and impenetrable and let the fans be inspirit and jubilant! If all these areas of the season fall into place maybe just maybe we can go the distance. I say this all the time but I just said it different this time, so let me say it again the old way. “If you let the coaches coach, the players play, the officials officiate and the fans cheer things will go just fine. “ It is when people start trying to do other folks job that things begin to unravel. This really applies to all the school in the area, Crisp Academy, Dooly, Wilcox and Fullington. Just let everyone do their job and it will all work out. Most of all let’s just hope we have no serious injuries or incidents and everyone remember your place. Oh! Thanks and God Bless.