Misplaced Priorities

THERE IS JUST SOMETHING, i don't know what, but something that rubs me the wrong way when i hear that my beloved college town of fayetteville, arkansas is not only constructing one gigantic high school instead of two somewhat smaller ones, but also that a new indoor practice football field is being completed, at a cost of millions of dollars.

There is a certain sickness to it, as if a town has lost its mind, and has elevated the sport of football to a religion, though you will never hear any school board member or administrator admit this. Its true, but nobody will come out and talk about the real problem; cultural addiction to a money making sport.

now, just for the record, I'm part of the problem, not the solution. I'm a football worshipper. (is there one "Pee" or two, or perchance even three, in "worshippper")...since i was about, oh, what, nine, forty eight years ago, i have been among the addicted.

While in the midst of being rubbed the wrong way, i was overwhelmed and shocked to learn that not only fayetteville, but neighboring city springdale has an indoor football practice field for its high school football team. Makes sense, since long before fayetteville rose to grid iron prominence, springdale was a perennial state champ.

fayetteville and springdale are both towns af about seventy five thousand people, so my next question is; how many cities across america with populations of over, say, thirty, forty, or fifty thousand have similar facilities.

Because, i know good and well that popular as football is in northwest arkansas (see map) is is far more wildlly popular in many other parts of the country, namely texas, ohio, pennsylvania, et al.

are indoor high school football practice fields common throughout our great prosperous nation for mid sized and big towns?  Exactly how many are there in america? Thousands?How long before public schools start charging students to attend, except football players, who are given scholarships?

Fayetteville, arkansas, i can tell you, is, and has been for decades badly in need of sewer and street repair, on a large scale. And for that matter, so is most of the rest of the country. Sewer systems, streets, bridges, highways, electrical grids; you name it, and we need a new one. Ask any civil engineer. And of course, don't forget school buildings; america's are crumbling.

We've been hearing it for awhile now: america's infrastructure is in a shambles, the situation is becoming an emergency, and it will cost trillions of dollars to bring it all up to speed, money which nobody has.

We're lookng at a future in which the country is heavily populated by elderly retired people in need of medical services we can't provide, trillions of dollars in debt, with a shattered worn out infrastructure.

But by god we damned well have indoor football practice fields for our high school football players.