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closein the redzone: For the love of America’s most popular sport
Shaun Scott
For the majority of athletes, graduation from high school signals a screeching halt to their days of playing sports competitively.
Only the best of the best go on to compete at the college level. But for those who still possess a love for their particular sport, there still aren’t a lot of options for those enthusiasts to pursue. Despite the shortage of athletic opportunities after graduation, there’s one local football team that gives local athletes a chance to shine on the gridiron.
The Pierce County Bengals, semi-pro football squad, based out of Tacoma, plays all of its home games at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner. This is a place where athletes from all over Pierce County come together for a chance to play arguably the most popular sport in the United States. Head coach Ron Baines is one of the most well known football coaches not only in Pierce County but across Washington. Baines’ disciplined approach with his players has paid dividends since he took the helm of the Bengals in 1994.
The makeup of the Bengals’ roster truly is a melting pot. Players of all ages, races, professions and backgrounds come together forming a team of close to 50 players. Many players are participating for different reasons. For the younger players who have recently graduated from high school, it may be a chance for them to audition for a scholarship to college. Many times athletes fully mature a few years after high school graduation. The film from these games can be their ticket to an athletic scholarship to a junior college or a university. For the six players on the roster who have college football experience, it gives those guys an opportunity to continue their playing careers after they’ve exhausted their eligibility in the college ranks.
Players with a college football past and aspiring college players aren’t the only players who make up the Bengals roster, though. There are plenty of guys who just love the game of football and want to get a taste of it once again. While strolling on the sidelines during the final minutes of the Bengals’ 19-14 victory against the Washington Cavaliers on June 21, I heard something from one of the players with a little under a minute left in the game that I will remember for a long time. The unidentified player said, “Let’s finish this game up. I gotta go to work tonight at 10.”
Bengals players don’t get paid but instead pay money out of their own pockets themselves to play football. Suiting up and donning a Bengals uniform isn’t the main focus of their lives, it’s just a small part of what they do. They’re sons, fathers, husbands and hard working employees who put their physical well being on the line every Saturday for the love of the game.
Even if the player who was worried about arriving to his shift on time that night was late to work, in my opinion there’s no better excuse in the world than saying I just played in a three-hour football game, representing Pierce County.
I mean come on, what’s his boss going to say to that?