THESE PEOPLE LOVE THEIR HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

It's no secret that Texans love their high school football, and there are some towns where the prep stadium is more of a shrine. I lived in suburban Houston during the oil boom of the early and mid 1970s, and crowds of 10,000 to 15,000 for a regular season game were by no means unusual. When it comes to playoff time in the Lone Star State, pro venues such as Texas Stadium and the Reliant Astrodome almost filled to capacity.

I was looking at one site this morning that featured high school stadiums in the Metro Houston area, and came across one that is simply over the top. In the Houston suburb of Galena Park, the school district's two high schools --- Galena Park and North Shore --- share a $22 million facility built three years ago that has numerous features. According to the site:

A jumbotron scoreboard with instant replay. A VIP section with individual seating and cup holders. TV monitors in the concession areas. A double-decker press box that has tons of space for every group to be happy. The scouts have seating capacity of about 30. The coaching boxes can seat up to 16. There are separate rooms for the press, radio, video deck, the dignitary section, and much more. Papasitos is served to all in the box at halftime and a standing buffet line of chips and dips, fruit and vegetable trays are there throughout the game.

Now remember, this is for a high school stadium! It seats 10,300...larger than most, but smaller than some in the area. The school district's athletic Web site features a virtural tour of the press box. There are a lot of colleges that would love to enjoy some of these features.