Quote from first time visitor to Fouts

RETSO · December 5, 2005

Since we are talkinig about High School stadiums, has anyone checked out Northwest ISD's new stadium in Justin. I think it is better than Denton's new palace.

GrandGreen · December 5, 2005

Ok, here is what I took as an attack on High Schools, sorry you didn't understand that!
There were a couple of more after that post too! Yes, I got a little defensive!
You took my post as an attack on schools? Maybe an attack on foolishly watsing money on elaborate athletic facilities, but as anti-school! You are going to tell me that the vast majority of athletic buildings are not financed by the taxpapers? There are very few bonds passed specifically to fund athletic venues, usually they are part of very large bond projects grouped with other building projects such as new schools. The school district I live in, has many more playoff games at their stadium than at Fouts, but at the same time teachers have to go into their own pockets to get adequate school supplies. This may be fine with you but I find it a little tough to rationalize.
I am an avid supporter of athletics, having played through the college level, but I think this arms race at the high school level is particularly sad. Your "for the kids" agrument is suspect. IMO, most athletic venues are build to keep up with the Jones and have little to do with the kids. Adding another log to the fire, is it for the kids' benefit that many school district do everything they can to not delute their talent pool. Schools are super-sized, schools divided by classification not location, etc. to increase the numbers of athletes available to one school. Surely, if it was "for the kids" efforts would be made to increase the total number of players that could participate not restrict them.
Why should you be defensive, unless maybe you have a vested interest like perhaps a high school coach?

Edited December 5, 2005 by GrandGreen

MeanMag · December 5, 2005

Ok, here is what I took as an attack on High Schools, sorry you didn't understand that!
There were a couple of more after that post too! Yes, I got a little defensive!
It bugs me when people rip on communities for building athletic projects and don't understand how most of them are funded. Plus if you don't think Fouts is a dump and that coach was 100% right, then I guess you haven't spent as many days in it as I have. Name another D-1 school with enrollment figures close to ours whose stadium is as bad. Maybe there is one but I can't think of it. I think it is second rate and I went to a Sun Belt School (UNT)!
I am not even going to explain the "for the Kids", if you think they are not built for kids, you just don't get it.
I think most of us agree that Fouts has to be Replaced!
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I said I agreed with most of your post, Fouts is not what I would call a dump, but it certainly is an embarrasment to the standard we are trying to bring ourselves up to. Much of the sunbelt plays in similar conditioned stadiums. There are those who call UofH a hole. I've heard Tulsa, while they don't quite have the student attendance we have, is bad. WAC schools, Idaho in particular has a horrible stadium. Hell, I think the Independence bowl is dumpy looking.

I do get that when you say it's built for the kids you have good intentions. I just don't necessarily think it's the right way to spend that taxpayer money when there are space shortages in districts that build these stadiums. Building an incredibly nice stadium while having to wheel in portables for classrooms I think might be associated with a misappropriation of funds. But it is built for fun I guess and kids do use it. So I guess in that respect it is built for the kids. But I tend to think its a status of wealth symbol a community points to when trying to recruit business and residents. Not to mention Administrator and City Council peoples egos.

NT80 · December 5, 2005

The main comment from the observer was about the condition and quality of Fouts, which was pitiful to him for a D-1 school. He then tried to classify it as even below the standards of lower high school divisions to express his point.

Again, we're used to the place, but what an outsider sees should remind us of what needs to become a priority. It's our image at stake as a program as well as for recruitment and retention of athletes, not even to mention a modern facility for the fans.

MeanMag · December 5, 2005

The main comment from the observer was about the condition and quality of Fouts, which was pitiful to him for a D-1 school. He then tried to classify it as even below the standards of lower high school divisions to express his point.
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To use it to express his point really isn't that much of a surprise though. HS football in Texas is king. It's embarrasing, yes. But the statement that HS's are better than UNT's stadium doesn't reinforce it as much as you would think. It's bad we all know it, and we all realize there's better HSs...

BTW, talk to NFL guys and see if their colleges have better facilities. I can tell you from personal experience that most colleges probably have better facilities than the Dallas Cowboys. And the cowboys are supposed to be a cash cow with merchandising and promotion... In fact I've heard I think an Oregon grad in the NFL complain that Oregon had better facilities.

ipEAGLE · December 5, 2005

The point is.... should a HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL STADIUM be worth more than the ENTIRE high school. NO.

Coach · December 6, 2005

What pisses me off is that everyone assumes that all high schools and school districts are like SLC or Denton and have state of the art everything.

I teach at a very poor, rural 2A school. Until about 2 months ago, the weight facilities there were similar to what you may find in someone's garage. These were the facilities used by the high boys and girls as well as the middle school boys and girls and all P.E. classes. Finally some funding came through to add some machines, but even that got resistance amazingly. We also do not have a track, our bleachers are falling apart (literally, as an opponent fan found out), and the press box is free standing and when we score, and those rickety bleachers start to rock, those in it fear for their life. Our gym is not air conditioned, and none of the four locker rooms there have any ventilation. The parking lots near the field house and field are not paved.

So, before you start to lump all high schools together and rip them for athletic extravagancies, remember that MOST schools are nothing like Southlake Carroll, Frisco, or Austn Westlake. I know for a fact that my school could use serious upgrades with athletic facilities, and YES it would POSITIVELY impact most kids in our school. Every 8th grade boy except one is in athletics (and he was kicked out), and between every boy and girl athlete having a better place to train as well as better facilities for every P.E. class 6-12, it would instill some pride. I think the kids deserve something nice no matter what they do in academics, fine arts, and athletics. There is no reason one should be ignored or neglected.

GrandGreen · December 6, 2005

What pisses me off is that everyone assumes that all high schools and school districts are like SLC or Denton and have state of the art everything.
I teach at a very poor, rural 2A school. Until about 2 months ago, the weight facilities there were similar to what you may find in someone's garage. These were the facilities used by the high boys and girls as well as the middle school boys and girls and all P.E. classes. Finally some funding came through to add some machines, but even that got resistance amazingly. We also do not have a track, our bleachers are falling apart (literally, as an opponent fan found out), and the press box is free standing and when we score, and those rickety bleachers start to rock, those in it fear for their life. Our gym is not air conditioned, and none of the four locker rooms there have any ventilation. The parking lots near the field house and field are not paved.
So, before you start to lump all high schools together and rip them for athletic extravagancies, remember that MOST schools are nothing like Southlake Carroll, Frisco, or Austn Westlake. I know for a fact that my school could use serious upgrades with athletic facilities, and YES it would POSITIVELY impact most kids in our school. Every 8th grade boy except one is in athletics (and he was kicked out), and between every boy and girl athlete having a better place to train as well as better facilities for every P.E. class 6-12, it would instill some pride. I think the kids deserve something nice no matter what they do in academics, fine arts, and athletics. There is no reason one should be ignored or neglected.
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Not sure why you think everyone is lumping all schools together. I think most know that your school is much closer to the norm than the Southlake Carrolls' of the state. If you got the vast majority of students in athletics than that is a great credit to your school imo. It is also proof that extravagant facilities are not necessary to have a good program. Good luck and I hope you get the upgrades you need to promote particapition and the safety of the athletics. I believe that the arts and athletics should both be part of a well rounded academic experience. I just don't condone what I think is over emphasis and outrageous spending by some school districts on competitive athletics.

untgirl04 · December 6, 2005

Not sure why you think everyone is lumping all schools together. I think most know that your school is much closer to the norm than the Southlake Carrolls' of the state. If you got the vast majority of students in athletics than that is a great credit to your school imo. It is also proof that extravagant facilities are not necessary to have a good program. Good luck and I hope you get the upgrades you need to promote particapition and the safety of the athletics. I believe that the arts and athletics should both be part of a well rounded academic experience. I just don't condone what I think is over emphasis and outrageous spending by some school districts on competitive athletics.
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Well said. Coach, I doubt anyone on this board would disagree with you when you say your facilities need upgrading. When it comes to a student's health and safety, the school has a responsibility to provide safe equipment. However, when the high school football team gets brand new uniforms each year, with upgrades in equipment and state of the art facilities, while other schools have opponents falling through the bleachers, something is not right.

Coach · December 6, 2005

Unfortunately, nothing can be done about that. Those communities vote to pay for those nice things, and they are simply not an option for many communities financially. I don't have anything against the wealthy communities using tax money to give their students every possible advantage, that is their business, fair or not to everyone else. I do have a problem when a new stadium goes up with bond money and everyone points at athletics as a whole as why there is a school funding issue. The two are not related, teacher pay and other funding issues begin and end with the slappies in Austin.

TIgreen01 · December 6, 2005

How did Chuck Norris change your life, Coach?

FirefightnRick · December 6, 2005

Chuck may be a great guy, but his son Curtis was an @sshole delux during the filming of "NR". He brought in two of his steroid freak buddies from L.A. to do stunt work. I had the pleasure of catching one of them stealing equipment from the locker rooms and had him kicked off set. Curtis didn't care for me much after that. Afterwards it came down to a face to face standoff between me and the thief and I thought we were going to go after it for a second there until our own Sydney "Mad Dog" Bradford stepped in. He turned and told Curtis and his buddies if he didn't like it to tear their @sses back to Caly. Pretty funny.

Rick

ipEAGLE · December 6, 2005

Not completely true... In 2a Holiday Tx they just remodeled the stadium and built a new field house with locker rooms/offices/meeting room and they have a school that is falling apart. Just last year their gym practically fell apart in 50mph winds.

A lot of people are angry in the town from what I've heard. Why not build new school first then deal with the athletics side of things?

VideoEagle · December 6, 2005

Chuck may be a great guy, but his son Curtis was an @sshole delux during the filming of "NR". He brought in two of his steroid freak buddies from L.A. to do stunt work. I had the pleasure of catching one of them stealing equipment from the locker rooms and had him kicked off set. Curtis didn't care for me much after that. Afterwards it came down to a face to face standoff between me and the thief and I thought we were going to go after it for a second there until our own Sydney "Mad Dog" Bradford stepped in. He turned and told Curtis and his buddies if he didn't like it to tear their @sses back to Caly. Pretty funny.
Rick
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Curtis is still the wonderful person you describe. I've yet to meet one person in the film business who has worked with him who wanted to do it again!