The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1912-11-22
AN AMATEUR
ON FOOTBALL
BEING A FEW OBSERVATIONS
ON THE GREAT NATIONAL
GAME BY A GREEN BUT
DECIDEDLY INTERESTED
SPECTATOR.

Dad" Young and the writer went
out to the Athletic Field last Satur-
day to see the football game between
the Everett high school team and the
team from Lincoln high of Seattle.
Now Dad" may understand this game
of Rugby but the writer bravely con-
fesses that he doesn't. He claims to
be some pumpkins when it comes to
the great American game of baseball
and he knows an upercut when he sees
it, but as to football he pleads guilty
to being densely ignorant. He is able
to recognize just two plays when he
sees them, the same being a touch
down" and forward pass" All this
stuff about "off-side play "yardage,"
"five yards to gain" ETC., is so much
Choctaw. But he went out to the park
just the same, probably because all of
Everett except the bedridden was 60
ing and we had to follow the crowd to
be in the swim.
The grandstand and bleachers were
riotious mass of color and a crazy
bedlam of waving pannants, gesticu-
lating arms and loud voices. Gray
haired men who but an hour before
were bankers, merchants, doctors and
lawyers, were setting the school kids
hard pace to follow in demonstra-
ton of complete lunacy Tender
hearted young ladies who would
shrek If yelping Xxi vi lmped past
them, the victim of a heartless young
hoodlum, sat unmoved as some young
athlete lay stretched out on the field,
the result of too strenuous tackle.
Dad" Young can be as fierce as a
bear when fighting some industrial
scrap, and the language with which
he occasionally relieves his feelings
fairly burns with sulphur. But under
meath that exterior of his beats heart
as tender as a woman's for the poor
and unfortunate in the race of life
and he is keenly sympathetic to hui
man suffering. But sakes alive! what
happened? Those two lines of plung-
ing athletes came together like loco
motive dashing into a stone wall.
There was a writhing, twisting mass
of arms and legs and out of the mass
shot body tightly clasping the ball.
He staggered to his feet but was in
stantly downed and the human wave
enveloped him ere he could gain a
foot And dad" Young and the writ
er were on their feet and yelling
Hold 'em, Everett, hold 'em!" Time
after time a player would be hurled
at the line and sometimes it would
break and waver and sometimes it
would hold like stone wall. And no
matter how went the play we would
be on our feet yelling like Comanche
Indians. At some particular play a
player was heard to admonish his
fellow to beat his block OFF, and in
sneaking way we hoped he'd do it
and were rather crestfallen when
nothing of the kind happened.
The tide of battle seemed to be go
ing against our fellows For nearly
an hour they had been hurting them
selves against that stone wall defense
of Lincoln only to be thrown back
while the husky Lincoln boys tore
great holes in the Everett line. Lin
coin had scored three points on a
field goal'-whatever that is-and
those three points loomed as large as
silver dollar to a hugry bo. And
then something happened that turned
that mob of onlookers from set of
chief mourners at the obsequies of a
near relative into a bowling, waving,
stamping mob of crazy dervishes.
With but ten minutes to play the ball
had been forced back toward the Ev-
erett goal line. We had said sad
farewell to the game and the cham
pionship. It was Everett's ball and
the signal was given for a forward
pass. The Lincoln players formed to
intercept the pass but the pass was
never executed. Out from around the
end shot Captain Michel-fleet-foote
daring, brainy Michel-with the ball
tucked away under his arm and a
clear field before him. Only one lone
Lincoln player was near him and
stern chase took place as Michel FLED
for the Lincoln goal line, sixty yards
away. Tricked and baffled the Lin
coin bunch Joined in the chase but
they might as well have tried to catch
a jackrabbit as the flying Michel.
Michel. Over the line he went with
the ball and Everett was in the lead,
six to three. And then pandemonium
broke loose. Women screamed and
men cheered and forest of hats and
pennants arose in the air. And dad"
Young and the writer were standing
on the seat yelling their lungs out
with the rest of them and assuring
the young Everett football artists that
they were the candy kids and that
they could have the First National
bank il they wanted 1t, Fired to
fenzy with the sudden turning of the
tide that bunch of high school young
sters tore into the Lincoln line with
a force that would not be denied and
the husky but beaten Seattle young
sters were forced back yard by yard
until another touchdown in the clos