AIN'T NO HORSES THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN RODE

I am so fortunate in so many ways it is hard to count.  I learned early on and in a not so easy fashion something about losing that has stuck with me and really helped.  I know the old saying about 'showing me a good loser and I'll show you a loser'.  That seems to be the guiding light for those who have never been in the arena.  A more accurate saying is the one from the old west that says 'there ain't a horse that ain't been rode nor a rider that ain't been trowed,.

My lesson came the Friday night after Thanksgiving in 1961.  My High School in Haleyville was the center of the High School football world in Northwest Alabama.  Coach Bubba Scott had built a powerhouse in our 3A Division.  We could beat anybody, we carried a 28 game win streak into that Thanksgiving weekend back in 1961. We were to play Russellville on that night.  Russellville was probably our biggest and most bitter rival. Win streaks were never more than one or two games but the Haleyville Lions had been on a pretty good streak and we felt unbeatable.  Though Coach Bill Doty of Russellville was also a great coach we had Bubba Scott and Ted Logan which surely gave us a two or three touchdown advantage.  That particular year we really had the best collection of small town talent to ever come along.  Both tackles were college bound and being recruited by major universities.  Russell Cheatem eventually signed with Auburn and Jim Roberts with UNA.  Our quarterback Jimmy Kent Israel was a major target of none other than Coach Paul (Bear) Bryant and eventually signed with Alabama.  Jim Long was a natural and played later at both Marion Military and Samford.  Bob Masdon was the greatest athlete I ever saw come through Haleyville and played later at Samford.  The rest of the team made us a group that had been part of those 28 straight wins. After this game my senior class the next year went undefeated with only a tie with Scottsboro on our record. In short  we were the horse that ain't never been rode and the rider that ain't never been trowed.

I believe now Coaches Scott and Logan probably knew we were in for what could be a real 'ass wuppin' the weeks leading up to the game.  These guys detested 'trickery football' like they did the devil.  Strangely during the week before the game we installed some 'trickery' we had never seen.  Bobby Masdon was to start the game with a 'lonesome end' play.  He was to line up, without going to the huddle, on our sideline and all the scrubs like me were to stand behind him to camo him from the Russellville defense.  Jimmy Kent was to take the snap, stand up and hit Bobby in full stride to deliver our first blow to the enemy.  Didn't work and that was not the last thing that didn't work that night.  The coaches had also prepared us for a tackle eligible to Russell or Monk (not sure which one) which was even less successful that the 'lonesome end'.

In short we got the hell beat out of us that night.  We were good but on that night Russellville was the better team.  We came back the next year and without Russell, Monk, Jim Long and the rest of those great Seniors of the 1962 Class beat the Golden Tigers 28-14.  Even though my contribution that night was limited to standing on the sideline behind Bobby for the 'lonesome end' play or hiding behind someone when it looked like Russell or Monk were coming out, that was the only game I dressed out in 3 years of High School when the Haleyville Lions lost.  Other than Bob Masdon, Jimmy Kent and maybe Paul Roberts and Stan Thornton I do not remember any other underclassman playing.  It was a total annihilation of a good but not great team. We were good before and we were good after but that night we met a superior force.

So when I see these fans start posting in social media about modern day players messing up or coaches getting out coached it really makes me want to lash back (puke). No 'your' kids played hard, the coaches did everything they could, sometimes you just have to remember 'there ain't a horse that can't be rode nor a rider that can't be trowed'.

WAR EAGLE and ROLL TIDE. .