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DEAR EDITOR:
The scoreboard says 49-0. The crowd's roaring, the band's playing and the town's undefeated team is basking in another easy victory. It looks perfect, another chapter in a picture-postcard season.
But perfection can be deceiving.
Because behind the chants, behind the helmets and highlight reels, there's another story playing out, the quiet politics of high school football. It's not about the kids who score touchdowns. It's about the ones who've earned the right to and never get the chance.
You see it every Friday night across America. A senior who's done everything right, who's lifted, studied, led and waited his turn, watches from the sideline while someone younger or better connected takes the field. And everyone pretends not to notice.
The team keeps winning so the questions get buried. If we're 7-0, what's there to complain about? But that's exactly how favoritism survives under the bright lights of victory.
This isn't a talent problem. It's a connection problem and a comfort problem.
The kids whose parents sit in booster meetings, sponsor the scoreboard or share off-the-field friendships with the coaching circle don't just have influence, they have insurance. They'll see playing time, even on off nights. Their mistakes are called "learning moments." For others, one dropped pass is a death sentence.
That's not about skill. That's about who you know, not what you've done.
And the hardest part? The overlooked players stay silent. They keep showing up, pushing the starters, doing everything right because they still believe effort should matter. They're the heartbeat of the locker room, but they get treated like background noise.
Coaches preach "character" and "team first." But what message does it send when loyalty and hard work lose to last names and friendships? When senior night honors commitment in words, but not in action?
Winning should mean more than a record. It should mean the program stands for something -- fairness, development, trust. When connections outweigh dedication, that's not culture, that's convenience.
And while the team might be undefeated on paper, the truth is harder to celebrate: some victories come with quiet casualties.
ELIZABETH ZELL
Farmdale