KY TV sportscaster sues local HS

Was always a sideline guy in my prep football days. I would find the stats guy for the team I was covering and walk with him the entire time. Was an easy way to confirm yardages and such. If it was two local teams playing, I'd spend a half on each sideline.

 

I was a sideline guy whenever I did prep football, and at my first job (where I was working when I got married), that included taking pictures. The only time I ever came close to getting hurt, I swear to god, was five days before my wedding. We had Monday night games that week because of massive rainstorms on Friday, and I was out taking pictures and noticed people coming to me late. Fortunately, I was able to move some, and all that happened was a guy landing on my foot at full speed. I was sore for a few days but was good to go Saturday for the wedding, first dance, and all that.

I actually knew the player who had landed on me and gave him some good-natured shit about it the next time we talked (while making it abundantly clear that it was my own dumb-ass fault).

 

You always knew what coaches would dodge you and take the guys straight to the bus, too. If you had one of those, it was SOP to move from the press box to the sideline with 3-4 minutes left so you could catch him and/or the players before they disappeared.

 

Likewise, Batman. Just have a comfort zone on the sideline. ALWAYS have to know where the ball/tacklers are.

 

Yes I like to man both sidelines, my own self.

 

I always preferred the sidelines. Sometimes there are pileups on fumbles and in the clutter of players, you can't see who made the recovery. Once they come off the field, just ask somebody who got it. Punt returns were the hardest. You had to line up with the receiver to see what yard line he caught it in case he runs it back for a touchdown. But if they rush the punter and it gets blocked, it can be hard to see from 50 yards away who blocked it. Again, ask somebody once they exit the field. If it is the other team, make a note and ask later. If you never get it, write around it. The Tigers blocked a punt. The Lions recovered the fumble.

There were a couple of fields where the only yard markers were on the fence between the benches and bleachers. No markings on the field whatsoever. That was a pain.

 

A couple of weeks ago I found myself at a men’s church dinner where I knew virtually no one and the majority of people at my table were in my parents’ age bracket at minimum. But after a bit of talking I discovered that one of them has three decades of experience and counting with the local football officials association and we were able to swap stories and bridge any communication gap quite easily after that. And for a moment in time I felt the old adrenaline rush and I almost wished I was back on the road to a stadium with a clean spiral notebook in the passenger seat and enough time before kickoff to discover the local barbecue joint or pizza parlor that would be decked out in the small town colors as another chapter of promise began.

 

It can always get worse!