es. In this gesture, teammates, even ones with enmity towards each other, are to hold hands in sign of support for each other and for their group. Another great ritual that has been used in many high school teams is the quoting of great football coaches, in particular Vince Lombardi. Our head coach before every game would recite the quote that made Lombardi famous. He quoted Lombardi saying, “The quality of a man’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field or endeavor.” (Flynn, 124). Immediately following this, we would rush out onto the field bursting with pride and striving for the excellence that Lombardi dreamt about. Aside from the somewhat beneficial rituals listed above, there have been some rituals that have been very reprehensible in the sport of high school football. Recently, a coach in Schurr High School in Monterrey Park was fired for having shown pornographic films to his team before games as a sort of encouragement to his team. The majority of his players were minors, and parents not to mention law enforcement officials were outraged. This in turn can be seen in many of today’s individuals in the business arena, where allegations of sexual harassment and improper conduct have been frequent. Another ritual that has been widespread in many of the nations high school football teams is the exclusion of females in the sport. My alma mater, La Canada high school was featured in the LA Times when recently for the first time since its’ inception, the football team enabled a female to play football. While this has been more common during the last few years, all female football players prior to Sarah Rathburn, were place-kickers. Rathburn is unique in that she plays on the defensive line. When asked about the new female player at his school, Norton Kim said, “I don’t mind that much, but there are a few things that bother me a...
