Some musings from a Matador, for some of his fellow Matadors.
150 years ago, during the month of april, The United States of America became engaged in a conflict that most of us, myself included, lightly refer to as… THE CIVIL WAR. Truth is, it was much more than a simple skirmish about the pigmentation density of various populations of people. The Civil War, was in fact, the key internal struggle which took place between the earliest regions of The United States. It took place because of pride. It took place because of land. It took place for so many reasons that the only way to understand the need for it, is to understand what it accomplished, as taught by President Lincoln; the need for “the formation of a more perfect Union.” It is for sure, the Presidents goal was accomplished. But not without many struggles and much sacrifice. Through the efforts of civilian soldiers and highly skilled career military leaders, the war was fought and as the chips fell where they would. What does this have to do with us ascending into Missoula Montana tomorrow night? I will tell you, bear with me. If you think about it, we are entering a similar battle. North versus South. Plus, this time of the year is just special for me. Not only because I do not favor winter, and so the newness of spring is a welcome delight. Not only because I love football, and am blessed to be part of a band of brothers – The Idaho Matadors – who all share the same passion. This time of year is special to me because in one subtle way or another, I am always reminded of the great struggle which took place one hundred twenty years before I was even conceived; THE CIVIL WAR.
If any somewhat, intelligible, individual (which may be fewer in a football setting J) would take the time to think about The Civil War; I believe they would come to the conclusion that every day of his or her life is in one way or another directly affected by the conflict of The Civil War. Because I am addressing you, my football brethren, it’s my desire to point out some examples of how our lives, even our FOOTBALL lives, have been blessed because of The Civil War. I also feel a the desire to some of what I consider to be my talent of the field, to my team who may benefit from it on the field, tomorrow, in Missoula.
Example 1: Agriculture, Education, and Football
During The Civil War, there was so much land and livelihood that was being destroyed, and laid to waste, (in the southern states, two-fifths of all accounted livestock were lost, or used for food, and more than half off all private farms and machinery were destroyed) that the federal Government went through great lengths to preserve something for future generations. For us. The first notable thing that our leaders at that time did to bless our football lives today was the formation of The Department of Agriculture. The Departments first act as an entity of Washington was to create and pass something called “The Land-Grant College Act”. This act set aside publicly owned land to be used for the specific purpose of building and supporting institutions of higher education dedicated to “agricultural and mechanical arts”. That’s right, colleges and universities. The universities in and around the Northern states had been established for hundreds of years, even as early as the 1700’s, seventy-six years before the birth of America. The northern states leading up to The Civil War, were the location for industry and higher education, and as they became more “civically advanced” groups of european immigrants that could not afford the education or the lifestyles the North was perpetuating, travelled and settled in the rich soils of what we know today as, simply, the South. Okay, so what? What does this have to do with our lives being blessed by the game of FOOTBALL? Well, here it is.
Because the land was saved and eventually used, common people; people who loved God, Family, and presumably the game of Football, began to build and form colleges and universities dedicated to enriching their lives, through education…through FOOTBALL. Think about the timing of the establishment of some of these educational and football traditions:
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Est. 1776
Princeton University Est. 1746
These two teams played one another in the very first, and second collegiate football games in America, in 1869!
I’ve separated the rest into conferences for the ease of cut and paste:
The First Date is the School’s Establishment and the second is the first year of football.
Auburn –1856, 1892
Georgia – 1785, 1892
Alabama –1831, 1892
Tennessee –1794, 1891
Ole Miss – 1848, 1890
LSU – 1853, 1893
Florida– 1853, 1906
Arkansas – 1871, 1894
South Carolina – 1801, 1892
Michigan – 1817, 1879
Illinois – 1867, 1890
Ohio State -- 1870, 1890
These are just a few, I could name sooooo many more.
As these universities grew, and social organizations such as fraternities and “football clubs” were formed, the directing board members and administrators of these universities started to realize the financial gains that the game of football would provide the educational setting that they were in direct responsibility to perpetuate. Universities began to capitalize on this; not only universities, but some of the minds that graduated from them. Such as highly educated business executives, who over the years have found a way to have a hand in the game. Today, it has brought us the BCS, (insert your own opinion here), and the National Football League (Lord help it!). All of this gave opportunities to our forefathers and the luckiest of their sons to make football a staple of American recreation. It still is today, because of The Civil War. Thanks heavens.
Example 2: Pride, Prejudice, and Passion
Up until the spring of 1861, when the Confederate army first attacked Fort Sumter, South Carolina, there wasn’t really a sense of national pride that was constant throughout the United States. Common knowledge will provide a basic answer that The Civil War was about slavery, and it was. But it was also about the religious, social, economic, and philosophically based goals and desires of many different kinds of people. When the cry for war between the states was made, millions of able bodied, and even not-so able bodied men, set aside the things which brought comfort and prosperity to they and their families; put on their respective blue or grey uniforms, and gave all they had, for some of them their lives, for what they truly felt was a just cause. At the tail end of The Great Awakening, the “Bible Belt” had buckled itself on the south, and in the eyes of many congregations, anything connected with the thought of darkness, even skin tones, were cause for “Hell! Fire! And DAMNATION!”. The Mormons and all their wives had been in Utah for twenty years, by the time all the fighting started. For the most part, they were focused on building Zion, and the dynasty years of the BYU football program that would come to life in the early 1980’s. And as a member of that genre of people, I have to say, they were a bit “sheltered from the storm”. Imagine that. J In the northern regions, (as is the case today) the business world in order to thrive, was forced into a wider range of acceptance of people even after freedom was made a federal law. It was decades before attitudes began to change, and no law could convict anyone of the feelings, ideas and traditions that existed in their hearts. In the end, all of the fighting, class distinction, slavery and oppression associated with The Civil War and the years following created and maintained a national atmosphere only appropriate for the game…our game…of FOOTBALL. In a way, all of the struggles that have surrounded these growing pains of our country have been a blessing. For many of us, (except Tom Bennett who was fresh out of washable diapers when Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream at the feet of President Lincoln in Washington) the civil rights movement and it’s struggles pre-date us. But, our lives, our daily lives, our FOOTBALL lives are deeply affected by it, and its predecessor; The Civil War.
What?
I know, I know, about now, you’re thinking this Mormon is on crack. Well, think about this….
Because of The Civil War, the pride, prejudice and passions of Americans ballooned in a way that helped fight four of the bloodiest war-years in all of history. These feelings, ill and otherwise remained. Because of the Civil Rights movement, modern America and its citizens could no longer deny the fact that if tolerated, blatant discrimination would eventually destroy this nation.
Maybe this could be best described with the help of ESPN.com special article writer Bill Curry. He describes what happens on the football field as a metaphor for the historical makeup of our country.
“The football huddle is a metaphor for our culture, and rivalries draw particular attention to one's preferred huddle. I know the analogy isn't perfect, but it fits in many ways. Our huddles include folks who are black, brown, white, red, yellow, liberal, conservative, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, agnostic and atheist. We are slim, fat, short, tall, fast and slow. We are analytical folks and impulsive folks. We have some of the finest people on Earth, and heaven knows we have some wild horse riders. We have been through the fires of Bobby Dodd, Vince Lombardi, Don Shula or some other coach who knows exactly how to extract every ounce of our energy.”
“The men who earn a place in the huddle have experienced the miracle of team. The training camp experience is unbelievable. It is day after day, week after week, two-a-day, three-a-day practices in the heat, often in 14 pounds of equipment. Many drop out, are dropped or are injured. Numbers thin, and everybody thinks about quitting; trust me, everybody.”
“For those who stay, there is the opportunity to participate in the greatest team sport ever devised. It is the only sport in which every player needs every teammate on every play, just to survive.”
“We learn, ever so slowly, that our differences do not matter in the huddle. When we trudge in after each interminable workout, we sense that the sweat smells the same on everybody. When we get busted in the mouth, the blood that trickles is the same color. Everybody is tired. Everybody is hurt.”
“It is in this process that the miracle occurs. Men who have been raised to hate each other's guts become brothers. I have seen racists reformed. I have seen the most unlikely hugs after victories … or losses.”
“Our players become brothers … for life.”
“It is what America is supposed to be, could be, might be, in our best dreams.”
Before each snap of the ball Saturday night, a grouping of Matadors whose lives, backgrounds and skin colors vary greatly, will stand shoulder to shoulder, snap after snap, down after down, in Gold and Black to plan offensives and defensives, in a huddle. In each small, line-of-scrimmage battle will be the attempt to uphold the pride, prejudices and passions of The Idaho Matador Nation, however young it may be.
Example 3: The Preparation, The Dedication, The Execution
Football takes preparation, dedication and execution. So does life. So did winning The Civil War. Ask my great, great, great grandfather John C. Hankins. At age 39, on August 14th 1862, he enlisted as a volunteer soldier in “Company K” of the 106th Infantry Regiment of Illinois. He served under the bulldog commanding general; Ulysses S. Grant. The “Company K” of soldiers that he battled with, was responsible for disabling a portion of railroad that without operation, polarized Confederate troops stationed in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This small, unseen, less glamorized war act by his company literally began a six week period of time in which the Confederate troops could not receive provisions. During the same time that “Company K” was cutting off confederate resources, and barricading the north edge of Vicksburg, General Grant had taken the rest of the Union army to the southern boundaries of Vicksburg. On the 4th of July 1863, the Confederates found them surrounded by Union troops and the Mississippi River. This was a major turning point in the civil war. The Confederates, by giving up Vicksburg, opened the door to Georgia, which after the Union took control of it, literally surrounded the remaining forces of the Rebel Confederate forces in what we now know as Virginia. Just over a year later, and after a few last attempts of “the South to Rise”, General Lee was forced to surrender to General grant on April 9th 1865.
Grant (who eventually became President of The United States and served 1869 – 1877) did not win all of the battles, but he did win the war. He was known for his simple but effective football like strategy in times of battle. He would instruct new recruits like this, “The art of war is simple, find out where your enemy is, get at him as soon as you can and strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” In my experience with the game of football, I think I recall recording a total of 6 maybe seven tackles. I am sure that I have recorded more missed tackles than that. In other words, I don’t always win every battle, but I plan to win every war. In truth, I’ve a feeling that my great, great, great grandfather John C. Hankins probably had a better football skill set than myself. And, apparently, I didn’t inherit his physical abilities to overthrow a whole rail system with the help of some close friends, although I’ve never tried. Somewhere inside me however, I’ve a feeling that much like my brothers from others –The Idaho Matadors – I’ve inherited the desire to Prepare, Dedicate, and Execute when duty calls.
GO MATADORS, BEAT MISSOULA
-jsh
