Excitement level is high for the return of football season

There is always a certain level of excitement that comes with the start of each new sports season.

Considering Kentucky’s love for basketball, it is a very big deal when tipoff time rolls around each year. Likewise, there is also a special feeling when basketball season is winding down, spring is nearly upon us, and it’s suddenly time to head out to the baseball and softball fields again. Of course, the fall season is all about football, with the tailgating, the spirit lines, the rivalries, and the adrenaline that is felt when the pads are laced up and it’s time to kickoff.

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about crowds at athletic contests not being as lively as they once were, but that was definitely not the case last Friday at the 2022 Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic. In fact, I think the crowd on hand at the Classic this year might have been the best that I have ever personally seen. If it wasn’t, then it was for sure near the top of the list.

The Williamsburg Yellow Jackets and the Oneida, TN Indians both brought tons of fans with them to Campbell Field last Friday for game one of the Pigskin Classic. The action on the field did not disappoint either, with Williamsburg managing to pull out a thrilling one-point victory, 28-27.

In the stands, crowds on both sides were vocal. Towards the end of game one you had all of the spectators who had been there to watch that contest, plus many of the fans who had come to watch the Corbin Redhounds take on the Pikeville Panthers in game two. Some left in between contests, but it appeared to me that many decided to hang around. The place was pretty much packed all night.

There were a few tents set up, including my friend Chance Hendrickson and his wife, Kayla, selling their (delicious) kettle corn. I think I also saw an area church or two with a tent set up, and at least one more that was selling some Redhound apparel, I think.

The concessions looked to be busy all evening, there were inflatable obstacle courses and bounce houses set up for the kids, and the winning team in each game walked away with a very nice trophy courtesy of the Redhound Varsity Club. Corbin bested Pikeville in the main event, by the way, winning by the final score of 24-19.

As I mentioned at the top, there is always a certain level of excitement when a new season begins. There is nothing unusual about that, but to me, it just feels as if the kickoff of the 2022 season had a little something extra to it. Perhaps that comes from the fact that, for the first time in two years, things are truly beginning to feel normal again in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Or maybe it’s just that we’re all ready to come together and cheer about something again after spending the last several weeks focused on the horrors of the deadly flooding that leveled many eastern Kentucky communities.

Whatever the case, week one of the 2022 high school football season definitely felt special. I felt it, and I’m pretty sure that many of you did as well. Best of luck to our area teams the rest of the way, and I look forward to seeing everyone on the sidelines!