I Found Out This Week That Small Town High School Football Is As Toxic As Ever

I dipped my toe back in the high school football waters this week. I knew it would be risky. I knew it would make my week far more stressful, and more annoying, than it had to be. I knew it would probably interrupt my day off yesterday (it did). 

There is nothing more vicious than an angry high school parent. Nothing. Don't you ever forget it. 

Believe me, I know. This is how I cut my teeth in this business. It's how I spent a past life. Covering high school sports, mainly football, down here in Florida. When it comes to high school football, it goes Florida, Texas, Georgia, and then everywhere else. 

Not in that order, of course. I would never rank them! I know better than that. (Florida is first). 

Anyway, I played it, covered it, and have watched it every Friday night for the better part of a decade now. Since joining OutKick three years ago, I sort of left that world behind completely. I went from battling with pissed off high school parents, to calling out insufferable liberals and writing about NASCAR. 

Life was good. Life was easy. 

But I had to jump back into the trenches this week. Had to. My small town of Vero Beach was going viral after Saturday night's 7A state championship game, and someone had to write about it. 

Sure, it could've (should've) been the useless Big J journalists down here who actually cover this town, but they stopped doing their jobs a long time ago. 

So I did it for them … and buddy, let me tell you, small town high school football is just as toxic as I remember. Maybe even more. 

What a ride. 

Yep, this is how I remember it!

So, that's the play that went viral last weekend. Our great Governor tweeted it. Clay Travis tweeted it. I had friends all over the country tagging me in social media posts about it, only because they knew I was a Vero alum, and it had somehow made it to their feeds. 

It was chaos. Anarchy. I was listening to the game on my couch because I refused to pay $15 to watch a high school football game and radio is better anyway, and I couldn't believe it. 

So I wrote about it on Monday. Not about this particular play, but WHY this play happened. It's all my town has talked about for the past four days. This sequence.  

Rolllllllll tape:

One minute left, Vero ball, one first down wins the game. That's it. Lake Mary had two timeouts. Vero took three knees, and then took an intentional safety, and THEN squibbed the kick. 

An unbelievable sequence. An unbelievable way to lose what would've been your first state title since 1981. Just baffling. What in the world just happened? I had never seen (heard) anything like it, and I've been in this game for a long time. 

You have the best offense in the state, filled with more D1 recruits than you know what to do with, AND a running back who's rushed for 200 yards on the night … and you take three knees? 

It's all folks in this town are talking about. At the barbershop. On the golf course. In between ‘amens’ at Church last Sunday. It's everywhere. 

So, naturally, I wrote about it Monday. I jumped back into the beast known as high school sports in Small Town, USA. Here's what I quickly realized:

The fans are just as passionate. The parents are just as, ahem, passionate. The death threats still fly like fireworks on the Fourth of July. And, yes, the annual ‘petition to fire the head football coach’ is still out there.

Goodness, I missed this. I hate it. But, I also love it. Small town high school football is a DRUG. 

Let's have a little class, folks

Yes, that's a real thing. When I say toxic, I mean TOXIC. There is a petition going around to fire the coach. Wild, right? 

By the way, I didn't include that in my initial story, because I thought it was ridiculous. I still think it is, by the way. I don't think Lenny Jankowkski should be fired. He's also the AD, so I doubt the AD is going to make that call. Imagine that conversation! 

But, he shouldn't be. I never said he should be. He also shouldn't receive death threats. Neither should his kids. Both of those things are rumored to be happening, by the way. Come on. What are we doing here? 

There's a line in high school sports. Feel like that's pretty clearly crossing it. Let's be a little better, folks. Be pissed. Don't be stupid. You live in Florida. We're the greatest state in the country. Act like you belong. Take that nonsense to Gavin Newsom's California. 

Anyway, people are pissed – both at Lenny and me! That's right. I've received three dozen emails since the initial story. Most of them from pissed off fans and alumni thanking me for writing it. Some, of course, from pissed-off boosters accusing me of disrespecting the team and the coach. 

Laughable, by the way. I handled this story with kid gloves, if we're being honest, because I have an emotional attachment to Vero. If ANYONE here has read my work before, and then read Monday's story, you'd see that. I did Vero a favor by writing it, frankly. Better me than someone else. 

I didn't call for a firing, or a GAMBLING investigation – something many of you want. I simply questioned the calls, which is fair given they were awful and cost the team a state championship. 

God forbid someone in the media questions a coach. The insufferable folks at USA Today (TCPalm, for you Vero Beach readers), spent yesterday trying to get me to take down a picture I used because of "copyright infringement." Seriously. 

Instead of, I don't know, doing their job and asking the same questions I was asking, they spent their morning trying to take OutKick to court. Amazing. Just amazing. 

It didn't work, obviously, because we have a licensing agreement with the company who took the pictures. Sad. Perhaps if they'd done four seconds of research, they'd have known that. 

Anyway, here's a sampling of the messages I've received since writing the story. Buckle, up, because they run the GAMUT:

• I'll put my money on this scenario: The kids played too well.  They scored too much.  Who had bets on a Vero loss?  Big money went somewhere...
• Something is off. A combo of things are off. He likely didn’t have to manage the clock all year.
• Maybe you should check distributions from Lake Mary's well-endowed athletic fund.
• I'm mad as hell after reading your article and I don't even care about HS Football in Florida or anywhere.
• Nice article about the worst time management in the history of football … at any / all levels!!!
• Short answer to your article subtitle: Yes, this is the worst time management ever.
• Your alma mater and the team you once played for went 14-0 and made history getting there, yet you chose to add fuel to the fire? I stand with Coach J, our players, our school and our special little town.  You probably should too.
• Easy target for you. Do you think Lenny can’t see it as clearly as you do 2 days later? Give him a break – he has won 86% of his games at Vero and you pounce on a quick decision with a lot of pressure. Just a cheap shot!
• Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your article on the game. It was the most honest look at what took place during the end of the game. You told the truth, it was nice to see. I thought you were gentle.

I could go on and on. A lot of you shared similar experiences from your high school days, which, frankly, was shocking to me. I didn't think anything could top THIS. Apparently, Lenny is just the latest. Wild. 

What a start to the week. I went back into the lion's den known as high school football, and it's just as insane as I remember. Just as toxic. Just as cutthroat. Just a violent. 

I hate it. But, on some deranged level, I also miss it. 

Toxic.