For as long as I can remember, I have never been a fan of cold weather. A nice breeze suits me fine, but anything below 60 and I’m turning on the heat.
Last weekend’s events caught me off guard as I was unprepared for the drop in temperature. The day before I was wearing shorts and everything felt great.
It feels like it was just yesterday when I moved to Rockdale and was taken aback by the hot weather. Repetitive days of 100-degree-plus weather was something I had never ever experienced.
Some residents told me that there was really no need to have a big jacket in Rockdale. Mike Brown told me that some years wearing shorts in December was a possibility. However, last week’s sporting events proved that this wasn’t going to be one of those years.
On Friday, the weather didn’t start off being too cold, so I thought I would be fine wearing some thin Nike sweats and a t-shirt with my Rockdale hoodie over it.
As I went to take pictures at Rockdale’s Volleyball game, I was greeted by Debra Neal, the RHS Cheerleading Coach. As we talked, she told me that I would probably need more layers for the football game later. The temperature was around 65 degrees at that time so I told her I would be fine.
A few hours later, it turned out I wasn’t fine at all. As I arrived at the stadium 35 minutes early, I could feel the wind-chill ripping through my thin hoodie. I was freezing! All I could do was sit on the bench and shiver. I asked Beaver, the trainer, if the training staff had any additional jackets, but to no avail.
Then I saw Mrs. Neal at the game. As she looked at me and said, “I told you,” all I could do was laugh at the fact that she was right. She tried to warn me, but I had not listened. Therefore, I got exactly what I deserved.
As the football players began to warm up, I realized that this was going to be a struggle I had to endure and just tough it out. I had a job to do and it was time to face the music.
As far as the game went, the football team continued to look impressive against the Academy Bumblebees. The offense looked balanced as they threw and ran the ball. The defense continued to impress as they held a good Bee offense to only 13 points. One thing that caught my attention was the intensive play of the defense. It seemed like every time I looked up, they were pressuring the quarterback, sacking him, or forcing an interception.
The guys continue to make me proud in the way they have turned things around from just a few weeks ago. You can feel the confidence radiating through the sidelines as they encourage each other and play as a team. With a district championship within arm’s reach, the guys will have to dig deep and play their best ball against a tough Troy team to keep their hopes alive.
As the fourth quarter approached, Rockdale was up by 30 points. This marked the moment when I wanted to take my reporter cap off and just wanted to get inside my apartment. All I wanted Coach Campsey to do was call run plays, so the clock would run down as fast as possible.
That evening I learned a valuable lesson, Texas gets cold, too! The next morning, I arrived prepared for the weather as I attended the cross-country district meet. Wearing my big orange bubble jacket and thick sweats, winter gear mode was activated.
As the regular football season enters its final stretch, I plan to continue to do my job at a high level and to be warm during the process. As I await the arrival of my big blue bubble jacket, I’ll continue to support the Tigers to the fullest. See you all in Troy on Friday. Go Tigers!
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