Demons Run When A Good Man Goes to War - 2/2 Football Blogs

“Demons run when a good man goes to war
Night will fall and drown the sun
When a good man goes to war

Friendship dies and true love lies
Night will fall and the dark will rise
When a good man goes to war

Demons run, but count the cost
The battle's won, but the child is lost”

― Steven Moffat

            Last weekend, we played an excruciatingly tough game against the Petal Panthers for the second round of playoffs. Of course, we won, but during the time we were playing, bystanders on the sidelines witnessed one of our most collected players go from calm to angry. Senior quarterback Kirk McCarty is one of Mississippi’s truest talents with a knack for football, baseball, and most surprisingly, newspaper. But that isn’t what I’m getting to. He is one of the few people, alongside teammates Logan Scott and Luke Little, who are calm and collected on the field and off the field. So when fans and spectators heard of a change in Kirk’s attitude, everyone became a lot more shocked than usual.

            When a Petal player decided to take typical Petal trash talk onto the field, they targeted McCarty directly, using their time on defense as a way to scream insults at the quarterback. After tackling him one time and insulting him and taunting him, the player went from careful to raging. During the 3^rd quarter, Kirk suddenly had a change in thoughts and instead of playing it safe and throwing the ball to Logan Scott and Jordan Duncan, who were wide open, he took the game into his own hands…literally. He ran the ball himself every chance he had, proving to the Petal players, who were taunting him earlier, that he was not a force to be reckoned with. In fact, McCarty took the time to get back at one of the players and telling the referee that the fight was not even his to begin with. That same player got in trouble by the refs for using foul language. Lesson learned? Don't mess with him.

            The Panthers proved to be a worthy match, but not worthy enough, in the end. McCarty and his Warriors pulled through until the end, showing Petal that the cockiest people get beat the worst. It took a lot to make him angry, and that event proved that you must’ve pissed him off badly to make him react like that. But in the end, just like the quote says, “Demons run when a good man goes to war.”

The Crimson Tide Dynasty - 1/2 Football Blogs

Every good story has an ending. But it's a story like this that makes you question: Was this really the kind of ending that this story deserved?

No. Not at all.

Lead by Nick Saban and senior quarterback, AJ McCarron, the Alabama Crimson Tide lead one of the greatest college football dynasties that this nation has ever seen. And they added on to many reasons on why the SEC is probably the best conference in college football. Although many fans and other rivals assumed that Alabama would be heading back to the BCS National Championship just like they did every other year, the Crimson Tide's three-year long national championship reign has come to an end. The Auburn Tigers ended the hopes of the Crimson Tide heading back into the championship game. And that's where this story begins.

Starting off their 2013 season against Virginia Tech, it was a no brainer that they would win. And they continued that winning streak all the way into November 30th, 2013. But they played hard every. single. game. And tonight, they still stayed humble, with McCarron classically tweeting each rival a congratulations tweet. The Crimson Tide are one of the most respected and admired teams in the SEC, making them a team hard to hate when it comes to respect and manners.

In the end, there is no hard feelings between Alabama and other teams they've played. Because the team is humble. They ended a four-year dynasty with class and athleticism. That's something to say from a team coming from one of the most stereotyped states in the US. We might be from the South, but we can form some of the best football dynasties in the nation.

-Emilee

AJ McCarron's Special Bond

Watching this video meant a great deal to me. As a fan of Alabama and a big fan of AJ McCarron, it made me happy knowing that he was more than just one of the nation's best college quarterbacks. With compassion and a personal experience with death, I loved hearing the fact that he grew close with a little girl he met through a Christmas miracle. That's something not a lot of guys would take the time to do. But AJ McCarron did. And that's really just something to be smiling about.

-Emilee

This was a special post that I had to share because I thought it was so motivational and amazing.

Roll Tide :)

Change Happens - Part 2

Change is good right?

No?

Yes?

I think change is the one thing that has affected me more than any other thing in the world. Change is the thing that has allowed me to mature and allowed me to cry more than I ever have in any given moment of time. Change is the one thing that's affected every single person I love. It's affected the one person that I did love. Keyword: did

Because of change and a transition into high school, I've witnessed the rise and fall of certain people. I have no problem with that, because those people deserved to go down. But I've lost some of the coolest friends to a fight for popularity. That's where change went wrong.

In 8th grade, I met some pretty chill people. These people didn't care about popularity, they didn't care about what others thought of them, and they were overall amazing people. I knew, according to the seniors, that everything changes once high school hits. I didn't believe them because I was like, "It's just high school. Who's it gonna kill?" It ended up killing me on the insides when I realized they weren't lying.

When we came back for high school, those people I loved being around turned into the biggest douches in the world. These people were fame crazy.

I discovered that not all change is good this year. It hit me hard. I don't want to accept it, but I had to.

Change sucks.

Nuff said.

-Emilee

Veterans Breakfast

This morning, I got the amazing opportunity to help with a breakfast tailored for war veterans from World War II and other wars that have happened over the century. Without these selfless men and women, our country might not be as free as we are now.

The morning began at 6 am with a set-up crew ready to get the morning started, so we wouldn't have to make the veterans wait for a seat. Although they were in their late 70s and early 80s, these men were always happy and smiling brightly, which echoed a sense of happiness and warmth onto my side of the story.

They were truly grateful for the breakfast that we prepared and that made me happy as well, knowing that they enjoyed a meal cooked by 50 or so high schoolers. Watching them salute the flag that they represented and singing along to their respective military branch songs were also heartwarming, as the military meant a great deal to these war heroes.

It made me realize how much someone could help inspire my life regardless of knowing them or not.

-Emilee

What High School Has Taught Me - 2/4 of Blogs That I Haven't Posted

High school is supposed to be one of the biggest transitions from childhood into the real world.

Whoever said that was impossibly right.

As a freshman, every single person in school hates you. Even the teachers. It's kind of hard to live with yourself in an atmosphere full of negativity and people who are set on bringing you down to prepare you for the "real world". The world isn't full of that many jackasses is there? There's gotta be someone nice out there in the "real world".

High school has taught me a few things:

• Never trust anyone.

In high school, you are put in some pretty crummy options. It's not fun because someone will twist some stories around and you'll become the class joke. And if you are ever placed in a situation where someone is pressuring you to tell something really personal...don't tell it. It's not worth it....

• You are your truest friend.

Although you believe that you have a good amount of friends that know you as well as you do, you really don't.

• People suck. 
• Math is useless.
• An application to a fast food restaurant is only a mile away if you are a failure.

Even though I'm just a newbie into the whole high school thing, I feel like it's preparing for the bullshit that is the real world, and that's just my insight into it.

-Emilee

The Self-Esteem Game

Today in class, we played a game.

People might think, "But school and game don't go together." Well, of course they don't. But still. This game helped bump up a lot of people's self-esteems. It was pretty awesome to see a group of dull kids finally brightening up. It also allowed us to see where we stood in life and what our friends thought we would end up becoming.

Starting off the game, we had to sit in a circle and close our eyes. The teacher picked about 4-5 random kids that she felt fit the category that she was going to call out. She would say, "Pick 2 people that you feel that are attractive, physically and mentally." Of course, your peers would pick you out and allow you to continue from there.

People that I never would've expected to think of me so highly picked me for categories that were outrageous in my mind. I got picked for attractive, good-listener, mature, inspirational, and more....I never realized how much I could change the world until I felt that my friends truly believed that I was that strong of a woman.

This simple game that anyone can play helped me realize what I truly meant to my friends. I could never commit suicide. I could help impact the world with just my individual self. Being the person I am right now is what helped those people factor out what I was like. I loved that.

-Emilee

Getting Stuff Off My Chest - Week 1 - 3/4 of Blogs That I Haven't Posted

I feel like I love to share my opinion on every single thing in the world. I have no idea why but it's so much easier to share it on a blog than in the real world. This is my 10th or so rant on this blog, but this is what I'm gonna share on a weekly basis...my feelings on life.

This week, I've seen the rise and fall of certain people that I freaking hate at school. As much as I hate to say it, I found it to be gratifying and nice to see that these people are now feeling the excruciating pain that I felt in middle school. So many people were intent on ruining my life in middle school to the point where I've become somewhat heartless towards what happens to them. It's a rude move, but when you've been bullied all your years, it's just good karma.

Second, I've felt what it was like to watch the person you love suddenly just forget about you. It's painful, really, but once you know how it feels, it's just another feeling meant to disappear later on. Even though we were both extremely good friends, he kinda just gave up on me and I knew that summer and meeting new people would change us. It's upsetting to be honest, but I've accepted it.

Third, I've been inspired by some of the most random people in the world, football players included. One of the seniors at school, who is the star wide receiver, helped me gain my perspective onto what life was really like for a "popular" kid and helped inspire me to not be so judgmental towards some people.

Me: Don't you ever hate being the popular clutch football player at school? Always getting the blame or the praise if you lose or win?
Him: Not really. I enjoy it. It teaches me.
Me: Why? And how?
Him: When you're the clutch and you're out on the field and you look up in the stands to see a hundred or so of your classmates standing there anticipating an amazing play, you begin to realize what you're doing this for. It's like a coin toss. You want heads and when that coin gets tossed you begin to realize a lot of things. When you're the clutch and you're out on that field, you suddenly realize what you're playing for.
Me: Explain that analogy.
Him: When you toss a coin in the air and you want it to land on a certain side, you suddenly know what you're hoping for in the split second that it is in the air.

Finally, I realized that giving up was my best alternative to certain things. There really isn't much to write about on giving up, but it's pretty self-explanatory.

It's been good to get stuff off my chest this week...

-Emilee

Halloween Fun! - 1/4 of Blogs That I Haven't Posted

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year!

This year was no exception as I went with my friends around their neighborhood trick or treating like it was no big deal. Although we're high school freshmen, we still like to get candy from other houses because it lets us know that we're never going to grow up, regardless of the situation.

Last night, we went, in the rain, around one of the largest neighborhoods in the city. Although it was dark and creepy, we enjoyed the experience thoroughly and had so much fun creeping around in the dark. Of course we got some surprises along the way, with some other high schoolers choosing to scare us for no reason.

Although there were parties that many kids at school went to, we chose not to join them and make our own fun, something that I'll never regret. When you have friends that you thoroughly enjoy being around, everything is fun. We were all a bunch of geeks. It was the best thing in the world.

In the end, Halloween is one of those holidays that you have to celebrate with friends in order to have an awesome time.

-Emilee