Perspective

Just wondering if he works for SpaceX now?

I don't know the answer off the top of my head, but I can't imagine going from a higher high to a lower low more so than this team from Texas. Gotta have the sound on at the end to truly appreciate it.

Well, even though he's not from Tampa, they still named a bridge after him. Oh, wait, turns out the Gandy Bridge is named after somebody else. Wayne Gandy. Haines City H.S.; Auburn; drafted by the Rams, but also played with a couple of other teams.

Well, I didn't know you were going back to the leather-helmet days. (By the way, I still have mine).

I'll go with 25%.

So, if one guy bet the kid would break the FL record and one guy bet the kid would not, wouldn't the guy who bet the kid would not break the record be right? Just curious, if the kid had stayed at Madison, had a terrific year, but got hurt in the semi-finals and wasn't able to play in the championship game, would the bet have been voided?

Someone sure went to a lot of trouble to keep that streak alive.

In a way, it might even be better if one team wins the 8A state championship for those teams who participated in the state series and another team wins the Dade-Broward 8A championship. That way, people will be able to go on websites and message boards for the next twenty years and argue about which team would have won had they actually played each other. Fans have been known to do that kind of thing.

Or just take the approach and use the argument that most of the kids on the winning teams will make: "Those South Florida teams knew they wouldn't be able to beat us this year so they chickened out and chose not to participate in the playoffs" (or words to that effect).

As a practical matter, I would advise the FHSAA not to solicit bids or enter into contracts for the 4A-8A championship games this year. Too many unknowns. If they want to "explore possibilities" with venues, that would be fine. Otherwise, just let the season play out and, as I have said before, and for this year only, play the games at the home fields (or the home towns) of one of the two teams in each one of the finals -- either the highest rated team (from an RPI standpoint) or simply flip a coin. Make the best of a tough situation.

Any team that wins a state championship this year is going to have an asterisk next to their name -- for reasons well beyond their control. That said, if teams from Miami-Dade and Broward make the perfectly reasonable choice to opt out this year so that they can get in a full season's worth of games (and perhaps have their own championship games), I suspect kids who play for teams that participate in the state series and come out on top will proudly hang that championship medal around their neck.

Well, how about an area just north of Tampa, but still south of Orlando (if you were to draw a line across the state)? If Orlando is in Central Florida and Tampa is in Central Florida, I suspect areas in between the two would also be considered part of Central Florida.

Yes, I think that's correct. They seem to recognize that a number of schools (especially in Miami-Dade and Broward) simply won't be able to start as quickly as the rest of the state and will therefore choose to play a full season of games over a truncated schedule and a state series in which they may only get to play one additional game.

Like, a guy who would eventually have a stadium named after him? That kind of legend?

ColumbiaFan, my understanding is that schools and counties keep the gate money from regular season games, but the money from state series (i.e., playoff) games goes to the FHSAA. I could be wrong, but that's my understanding. Even if the gate money is cut because of Covid restrictions, 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. It wouldn't surprise me if the money made from the football state series alone covers the salaries of several FHSAA staff members. In other words, there are (perfectly legitimate) reasons why the people working there and who are working on this issue would like to see a state series.

I couldn't agree more. I just feel that collective voice needs to be heard.

I might know of a few reason$$$$.

There are a lot of voices out there: teachers, coaches, AD's, administrators, physicians, etc. All of these voices have been heard by the FHSAA -- either directly, or indirectly through one or more of the advisory committees. But the one voice that I have not heard yet is the voice of the athletes. Perhaps the assumption is that the athletes will, of course, want to play. Maybe that's what they would say, maybe not. I'd certainly bet on the vast majority of them saying that they want to play. But it just seems a little odd to me that the athletes (some of whom are legal adults at this point) don't have a voice in this process.

Jesse, just curious: did the family move to Valdosta? Or is the kid going to make an hour long (each way) commute every day?

So, does Badbird get his $100?

Jesse, I truly love and admire your passion for Madison County and their stud RB. I have no doubt he'll put up big numbers. I don't know how big Derrick Henry was when he started high school, but he was a man among boys by the time his senior year rolled around. I think he was around 6'2", 6'3" and weighed about 230-240 pounds his final year. His combination of size, strength, and speed made him virtually unstoppable playing the teams that Yulee faced. From your earlier post, Fleming is 5'7", 5'8" and 165 pounds. I suspect he's not done growing and he may grow to be every bit as big as Henry, if not bigger. But until that happens, even with his speed, he's not going to be able to run over people or break tackles like Henry did. Last point I'll make it this: with Covid, I doubt any of the teams in Florida get to play a full schedule of games this year, including playoff games. If Madison is somehow lucky enough to play 15 games (which is highly doubtful), and the kid stays healthy and plays in all 15 games, he'll have to average about 285 yards a game to beat Henry's single-season record. I'm not saying it can't be done; I'm just saying it's going to be awfully tough for it to happen this year. If he does it, I'll be the first to offer up congratulations and eat my serving of humble pie.

Yeah, like about 4,000 extra yards.

I can't argue much with what you have said Darter. I'll respond to/answer a couple of the questions you have raised. 1. I do think the FHSAA will (try to) come up with some proposals that try to maintain a state series, if at all possible. 2. I also believe that if given the choice between football without a state series and no football at all, most everyone is going to be willing to forgo the state series, even if that requires a shortened season. By the way, my proposal was to let counties and districts do whatever they want to do, but leave two weeks at the very end to do a "college football playoffs" type of state championship. Four teams in each division based on RPI. Teams with higher RPI host semifinals and finals. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would result in a state champion in each class and allow the FHSAA to recoup otherwise lost revenue. 3. As for fans, I think a certain number should be allowed. Parents get first priority. Family groups of 8 or less can sit together. All other fans (including students) most be socially distanced. Bands would likely get banned this year and I'm on the fence with respect to cheerleaders. Also, schools/districts/counties should be allowed to enter into one-year contracts with streaming services so that games could be viewed by those fans who cannot (or choose not) to attend games in person. 4. Stretch the player box out from the 25 yard lines to the 5 yard lines. 5. Last (and I'll be careful not to mention any specific names or political parties so as not to have this thread outcast to social Siberia), imagine how much further along we'd be in the recovery process if certain leaders weren't afraid that being seen wearing a mask would be viewed as a political liability.

So, based on the last FHSAA Board meeting, the staff was tasked with the responsibility for coming up with plans/proposals that could be considered by the Board at their next meeting (sometime between August 10th and 17th). I get the feeling that the Board and the staff would like to have a state series if at all possible. ColumbiaFan, I'm already on record for stating that they should probably just forgo the state series this year (at least in its current format) and let counties/districts pretty much do whatever they want to do to get in a season of football. Everyone seems to understand that football pays for the gas that goes into the overall sports engine. And state championship series help pay for the gas that goes into the FHSAA's engine. Along those lines, and as I said, I think the FHSAA (both Board and staff) wants to see a championship series, if not a championship game, in each classification. Perhaps that's just an overly-optimistic viewpoint of where we will be as a state and as a nation in four months. We won't know for a few months. I was just trying to come up with a suggestion that helps build the best pathway to get to that point. If we don't get there because of Covid, so be it. But if the health climate in November and December would otherwise allow for some sort of playoffs/championship game(s) and it doesn't happen because of lack of planning, that would be a shame for everyone.

Yeah, I've thought about this too. For small class schools, the answer is going to depend on whether the FHSAA can get out of their contract with Gene Cox (simple solution: cancel this year and push the contract back an additional year). For the larger classes, my suggestion is simple: for this year (and this year only), let the top seeds in each class host, but a portion of the gate has to be used to offset reasonable travel expenses of visiting teams.