What should have been a joyous occasion at last Friday’s Venice High School football game turned sour with a lopsided 64-8 win over a SmartEn Sports Academy team that fielded 20 or so players wearing mismatched uniforms.
Little was known about SmartEn Sports Academy, as their bus from Carol City arrived latewith little time to warm up.
Venice had the ball first and on their opening play from scrimmage, an Indians running back was literally untouched on a long touchdown run.
Making things even worse were the annoying antics of a public address announcer who amped up his usual delivery, which made even loyal Indians fans like me grimace.
Many of the Venice High fans left the game before the first half ended.
There’s blame for both athletic departments
to share.
Venice High, a football program that annually vies for the state title, needs to be more cognizant when it chooses non-district schools for its schedule.
And SmartEn Sports Academy should have recognized that a small squad of players could not compete against a potent Venice High team.
I hope that during SmartEn's ride back to the Miami area, someone told the players on the bus that life’s best-learned lessons – like integrity – can come through losing.
Yes, the books will record that Venice won the game – if you could call it a win.
Or, more to the point, if you could even call it a game!
Marc G. McHugh, Venice
Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: I'm a Venice football fan. Here's why I didn't cheer our win | Letter
