Robservations: It’s time for the Pioneers to ‘Shine’
There are around 55 people headed to Nunley Stadium tonight who probably feel like they have butterflies the size of buzzards flying around in their guts.
Because there is pressure in every team’s season opener — but nothing like the pressure in Pioneer camp this fall.
Is it finally time? That’s what people want to know. Is it time to put the seasons of wallowing at the bottom of the heap to rest? Is it time to have something to celebrate at the top of Rebel Hill?
Is it time to have pride in Pioneer football again?
Imagine being 15, 16, or 17 years old and having that responsibility on your shoulders. Heck, imagine even being an adult and having it.
One thing is clear, and it was said in this very space just two days ago: This is not the same Pioneer football team we’ve seen get trampled for 39 straight games. Some of the faces might be the same, but the attitude has done a complete 180-degree turn.
With the jitters of opening night, which believe you me are felt from the bottom of the depth chart right up to the top row of the bleachers, one thought has kept running through this columnist’s mind.
In fact, it’s more than just a thought, actually. It’s a song — a song I used to listen to before games back in my weekend-warrior softball days. It’s by Rollins Band, a quasi-punk group from the 1990s most high-schoolers these days have never heard of, and it’s called “Shine.”
Think about these lyrics, and see if they don’t seem applicable to the psyche the Pioneers hopefully are sharing as they prepare for tonight’s game:
“If I’d listened to everything that they said to me, I wouldn’t be here. And If I took the time to bleed from all the tiny little arrows shot my way, I wouldn’t be here.”
“The ones who don’t do anything, are always the ones who try to put you down. And you can spend your entire life walking around in a nowhere land of self-doubt.”
And here’s the part that’s sticking with me. In fact, imagine a driving drum beat and wailing guitars in the background, and you’ll hear what’s been in my head all week.
“It’s time, it’s time. It’s time to align your body with your mind. It’s hero time.”
Heroes? These high-school kids?
That’s right. In fact, most of these guys are already heroes, from where I sit. Because through 39 straight Friday nights, they’ve kept battling. Through coach scandals, coaching changes, and loss — after loss, after loss — there are kids who’ve busted their hulls every year trying to become the Pioneer team that didn’t finish last; that didn’t lose every week.
You’ve got to look up to that kind of attitude. You’ve got to admire the guts of a kid that says to himself, “No, not this year. This year will be different, and I’m going to work to make sure it’s different.”
And you’ve certainly got to admire a coaching staff which says, “Yeah, we may be smaller in numbers, we may be smaller in stature, and we may have frustration working against us. But I believe in these kids, and I believe they can be the group to turn it around.”
Win or lose, you can’t deny the effort that has been put forth. There aren’t any shirkers on this squad, and there aren’t any self-doubters.
So what’s left for them to do? Only to take that attitude, that work ethic, and “align your body with your mind.”
It’s hero time. It’s time to shine.