It is the fabric of our Friday nights. It’s easy to say that prep football is a respite, or an escape for a few hours. I found out the lengths of truth in that statement, this weekend.
It started as an innocuous weekend morning text. “Hey, it’s Legette. Wanted to say it was good to watch Friday football news online. Little feeling of home. Keep up the good work.”
The texts from Steve Legette, the Wando High School assistant principal, continued.
“On Saturday morning, we get together, everyone talks about what their high school team did. I got to say, ‘Wando didn’t lose’. We have something to look forward to Friday nights and Saturdays for college football.”
It sounds like a conversation that you’d hear at any small town Waffle House or coffee shop. Sure, I was appreciative of the text, but man, it hit me when I realized that the conversation and text message were coming from Djibouti, Africa.
“When I left in 2008, could hardly get in touch with home,” said Legette, who is in his 30th year with the South Carolina National Guard and did a tour of duty in Afghanistan 15 years ago. “Now, we can call every day. Internet in our rooms, things we didn’t have 15 years ago in 2008.”
This year, Legette is not on the sidelines or working crowd control. He’s not taking tickets or parking buses. His service is of a higher order, on the African coast, somewhere between Sudan and Somalia.
“We have a two-star general who says every day is a Tuesday here,” Legette said. “I said not anymore because now we have Fridays. Next week, we start having Saturdays.
“We’re SC National Guard, so we have guys from all over,” he continued. “I’m the Charleston guy, the Wando guy. I only care about Wando. I have guys from Dillon, Myrtle Beach. Everyone trying to get their high school game, get up at 2 a.m. and watch it on whatever streaming service they have. One guy whose kid goes to Dorman couldn’t get it, so I had to stream on the radio.”
It just means more in the south. This Friday, it means the most in the east. East of the Cooper River that is. Lucy Beckham battling Wando. The battle for supremacy on their side of the Isle of Palms connector.
“Just got off the phone with Coach Bookman, more of a learning curve for us on our own campus because we’re the away team,” Legette said. “District 2 stadium, will feel weird for students and parents to be sitting on the other side of the stadium in the sun when everyone else gets the shade, Different experience than it was last year. I texted Rocco, good luck this week. Talked to some of the other coaches and wished them luck and told them I’m pulling for them.”
Amazingly, with the News4 livestream of the game, Legette will be able to watch it live, all the way from Djibouti.
“I do miss Friday nights, being out on the field and part of athletics,” he said. “I should be able to watch it. Majority of us won’t be up at 2 a.m. watching anything, so the internet should be working and we’ll go from there.”
Source : ABC News
