After several practical jokes by Mother Nature forced the rescheduling of prior Friday night home games this season, last Friday night, I got to experience my first Friday night high school football game at home under the lights since November 2016 when I was coaching high school football in Montgomery County, MD. It has been much too long for this Texas boy. It was high school football the way God intended it to be played on the 5th night of His creation.
Once every few years, I wear a suit on the field to honor the legendary and nattily dressed football coaches from generations ago for whom I have great admiration like Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers, Don Shula of the Baltimore Colts, and Hank Stram of the Kansas City Chiefs. Coach Stram, it should be mentioned, possessed a wardrobe that occupied four closets!
Most of all, as a small child in the early 1990s, I wanted to be like Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys after watching NFL Films from the 1960s and 1970s, long before I was born. Two-time Super Bowl Champion Coach Landry was a gentleman of deep Christian faith, unrivaled football intellect, and high fashion sensibility.
To celebrate the return of Friday Night Lights back in my life, I felt it was fitting to don the suit and boots to honor my Texas forebears – Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys with esoteric details evoking Bum Phillips and Jerry Glanville of the Houston Oilers.
