Home > Ben Jones > Archives > 2008 > December > 06 > Entry
Great for the Vikings; Unbelievable for the Gryphons
I really thought Tarboro would lose and Rocky Mount High would win on this night.
I thought that all season.
Both teams are talented. Both teams deserve to be playing next week.
Only one will, but, again, I thought it would be the Gryphons.
I’m a bit shocked, really. Jacksonville Northside is a fine team, one that — I thought — had the answers to Tarboro’s riddles.
Wrong was I.
The Vikings are sharp and demonstrate excellence like a child prodigy. I’m more than impressed with this win. No matter what happens Friday in Chapel Hill, the Vikings have done it the right way and pushed us doubters on the back of the wagon.
I thought Rocky Mount High would quell a last-minute spurt by West Craven. I thought the Gryphons would use all of their dynamic tools to glide past the Eagles.
Wrong again.
Sometimes, being so wrong makes me think two irrational thoughts:
1: I’m stuck in Seinfield’s bizzaro world.
2: I’m righted by being so wrong.
I feel bad for Rocky Mount High. I know how much those players wanted to win. I know who they wanted to win for. I know what a win would have meant to legendary coach B.W. Holt.
That’s a team full of smart, talented people. That’s a program that should only grow and learn from this loss.
There is no greater source of learning than losing. It’s so easy to see what went wrong and what could have been different if far-too long ago actions had taken place. It hurts too bad not to glean knowledge that smacks the face until it stings.
It’s easy to judge what we do wrong. It’s considered gloating when we discuss what we do right.
These teams are both wrong and right. There are holes, imperfections and flawless traits intertwined within both programs.
Note this: The Gryphons did not win on this day. But in the future, when they do win, when they do win the big game(s), they’ll know their path was long, tough and respectable.
This isn’t a video game or a fairy-tale movie. This is life.
The knowledge these young men gained on this night, at every game before this, at every practice for countless years, is irreplaceable, undeniable and nontransferable.
It hurts. It smacks. It stinks.
And for their struggles, humiliation, zeal and fight, they should be proud of where this program is and their individual self-imposed maturation.
They are true champions.
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Comments
By macdaddyd5
December 6, 2008 4:09 AM | Link to this
RM is snake-bitten.I don’t think the better team won Friday night but West Craven won the intangibles: turnovers, kicking and field position. That along with RM beating itself and some curious calls/no-calls by the officials doomed RM. This was RM best and possibly last hope in making state finals in the near future. It was a great ride in 2008 but one that ended too soon.