Gooooood Evening from Canton!!!

I will say this first and foremost: Way to go Coldwater, you really played as best as you could, and you should be proud.

Second of all, it was cold tonight!!  I am still wearing my long johns as I write this!!  That's right, I admit it, it was a cold game!!  Luckily though, no snow or rain, only clear skies.  Anyways it was a cold night in Canton.

So I got to Canton about 1:30 and the kick off wasn't until about 3:00, so I decided to shoot some video of the Coldwater fans tailgating and having "breakfast."  Within about thirty seconds of starting to shoot the video they drug me into the tent and started shoving food at me.... I then only requested some caffeine because I knew it was going to be a long day.  I started to drink the Mountain Dew, which never tasted so good, when the MC of the tailgate came up to me with a heaping plate of food.  Now to let you know, I just finished a "Five Dollar Footlooooooong" from Subway, so I was pretty much stuffed.  When they brought me the plate, one of the senior moms took my camera and drink away from me so I had two hands to eat my food..... Needless to say, I had to eat the food, and it was DELICIOUS!!!  So I ate as much as I humanly could, and I mingled with the Coldwater fans before the game, and got some video of the kids Coldwater playing football on the "Hall of Fame" football field, and finally had to part ways to go into the stadium to try to get ready for the football game.

Once inside, I got my credentials and headed to the media room on the field level, under the stands, which was a 12 by 12 room with lockers and a 7 foot ceiling beneath the fans, a random Reebok football cleated shoe, and two tables for us to work on...  Needless to say, it felt like home!!  Seriously!!  I set up my editing station inside and talked with some of the newspaper photogs there, and finally headed out for the game....

Stepping onto the field, the bitter windchill hit you in the face reminding you that it is December here in Ohio.  Coldwater came out strong and scored the first points, but YU (Youngstown Ursuline) responded just as strong.  The defense of YU tore apart Coldwater because if there was one missed route or one missed pass, YU was there to gain on the play.  Coldwater did one HECK of a job playing tough.  Coldwater honestly NEVER gave up.  Even in the last seconds when they were down by 30 points, I remember Coach John Reed yelling out at them to get the play off with less than a minute left in the game.   I know they did not get the rings and didnt get what they were hoping for, but to any of you Coldwater players, you should be proud of what you have accomplished this year.  You represented the MAC and Western Ohio!!  We are proud of you and all you have done!! 

So then after the game, I got to talk to John Reed, Head Coach of Coldwater, and QB Keith Wenning, as well as a few of the mothers of the Coldwater Seniors, including the kind mother, Bev Sanning, who held my camera and Mt. Dew.  The team let the parents come into the locker room after the game and almost every single parent coming from the locker room was chocked up with sadness, but still proud of how their team did this season.  Coldwater has overcame a lot of obstacles this season, but still came out as the second best team in all of the State of Ohio, hats off to you!!!

21 days left!!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael