LHS players' gesture could symbolize a positive change
Jeremy Heath

Jeremy Heath is the Dispatch Record's sports editor. His column appears Fridays. He can be contacted via e-mail at jheath@lampasas.com.

It's good to see symbolism still has a place in high school football programs.

I'll be the first to admit teenagers today are about 10 times more savvy and enlightened than I was when I was one. And enlightenment has a way, thank goodness, of undermining things like superstitions and symbolic gestures. That doesn't, however, mean there is not still a place in today's world for symbolism, and the Badger football players seem to realize it.

The first official spring practice was Saturday. On Friday night, a group of players stayed the night together on the practice field in a show of solidarity.

A scientific mind might dismiss such an undertaking as pointless or even useless, seeing as how the act itself isn't going to make any of those kids run any faster or absorb any more information. But an idealistic mind, like my own, looks at the act and sees a small step forward for the entire program.

Symbolic gestures bring teams together. Whether it's teammates entering into an off-the-field-actionrestricting pact together or a group of them spending a night together on the football field, both scenarios have one thing in common - players committing themselves to doing something together.

PHOTO BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Offensive line coach Ben Needham puts his players through individual position drills last Saturday. The Badger football program is coming off an 0-10 season, but the players have taken it upon themselves to find ways to strengthen the team's bond. On the night before the first spring practice, team members spent the night on the football field.

Togetherness is where winning begins. When players view the team concept as a communal experience, they develop a sense of obligation to the other members of that community. That manifests itself in every aspect of training. Players start feeling a sense of guilt when they slough off because they realize they're letting down their teammates and weakening the team bond. The opposite is also true. When players put forth extra effort, they start to take pride in the fact that they've strengthened that bond.

Building a winning program starts by convincing players the program itself is bigger than any individual within it.

Maybe last Friday's gridiron slumber party was more than just a symbolic gesture.

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Speaking of symbolic gestures, I hope Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was trying to send a message to running back Marion Barber and his mercenary agent Drew Rosenhaus when he selected two running backs during the NFLDraft last weekend.

Two weeks ago, Jones offered Barber and Rosenhaus a five-year, $30 million contract extension, but they turned it down and are asking for almost twice that - a contract that would put Barber (who has made three NFLstarts) in the same company with proven NFLstars LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers and Clinton Portis of the Washington Redskins. Barber's a good running back who is fun to watch because of his brutalizing style, but that's about it.

Until he proves otherwise, Barber doesn't belong in the same breath as Tomlinson or Portis. Barber hasn't even proven he can be a No. 1 running back. When he got his chance in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game against the New York Giants, he ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, started missing blitz pickups and almost got quarterback Tony Romo killed.

The fact that Jones selected Arkansas running back Felix Jones with the 22nd overall pick when Illinois' Rashard Mendenhall was still on the board indicates Jones has every intention of coming to terms with Barber and Rosenhaus. If Jones thought any different, he would have taken Mendenhall, who is projected to be a guy who can carry the ball 25 to 30 times a game if need be. With Mendenhall on board, Jones would have the leverage to tell Barber and Rosenhaus to step back into reality or take a hike

which he should do anyway considering the shear insanity of what Barber and Rosenhaus are asking him to pay).

A smart general manager would never draft for the specific purpose of gaining contract leverage, but the selection of Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice in the fourth round gives Jones a little of that. I'm sure Cowboys' offensive coordinator Jason Garrett would laugh at the idea of platooning two rookie running backs, but it could be done. Running back is one of the few positions at which rookies can excel in the NFLbecause it's conducive to pure skill making up for a lack of experience.

Ideally, the Cowboys will come to terms with Barber, who was a Pro Bowler last year, and Felix Jones or Choice will be used to spell Barber during games. But if Barber and Rosenhaus can't accept the fact that the owner's original offer to Barber was probably more than what Barber is worth, and that what they are asking for is flat-out ridiculous, then at least the Cowboys have options.