Hickman Kewpie football

On Friday night, I volunteered to shoot a local high school football game. The Hickman Kewpies were taking on the Jackson Indians in Columbia, and I missed being on the sidelines, covering game action. I was also interested in seeing much Missouri football differed from the Texas football I’d been covering.

First of all, I was surprised to see how small the teams were, both in terms of numbers, and physical dimensions. The Missouri teams had a lot of speed, especially at the running back and wideout positions, but I didn’t see a lot of the big hog-mollies I was used to seeing on the offensive and defensive lines in Texas. Also, some of the best athletes on both teams were playing both ways…it was weird seeing the stud linebacker for the largest school in the state also lining up as an O-lineman. There also weren’t as many folks standing along the sidelines…but apparently soccer is a bigger sport here, and that may pull some of the athletes away from football.

I was sort of surprised at the size of the crowd. There were just a few hundred people in the stands for the visiting team, and maybe a thousand for the home team. Everyone told me high school football is big around here, but it’s obviously not the religion that it is in West Texas.

Worst of all- there was no food for the media in the press box! I miss my nachos and chili and pizza at Shotwell Stadium! I also missed the Reporter-News’ new 400mm 2.8 lens, but the D4/300mm 2.8 combo wasn’t too shabby.

I also have to add- I covered Eagles and Cougars and Badgers and Gorillas and Bulldogs and and Buckaroos, but I’ve never shot a Kewpie Doll. That’s one weird, weird mascot.

But, all differences aside, it was good to be back on a sideline under the friday night lights…