What happened to the Cowboys?
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
With five high schools in the county, I often wonder about each school’s nickname and think about how they got the nickname. In Highland County we have the Indians, Mustangs, Tigers, Lions and Wildcats. Highland County has a nice mixture of cats, horses and a celebrated group of people.
If Southern State Community College is added, then we have Patriots.
I also dream of the time when the city of Hillsboro was not represented by the Indians and were called the Cowboys. How cool would that have been? Not that I don’t like the Indian name. I love hearing the HHS Indians fight song (you know, the one the Florida State Seminoles use), but I have always been a fan of all things about cowboys and the Wild West.
Why did the school district do a 180 and go from Cowboys and switch to the opposite of a cowboy? Makes a person wonder.
I have made a list of 10 reasons why the Cowboys nickname should return.
1. Cowboys have cool hats. The coolest hat of the cowboy is the one worn by Hoss in “Bonanza.” Have you seen it? A big ol’ white 10-gallon hat. A close second is Boss Hog from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
2. Same nickname as my favorite NFL team. If you have pretty much talked to me once about football or read some of my football columns, you already know that.
3. The band could play the Kid Rock song “Cowboy” before games. OK, not the lyrics of the song, maybe the part where it says, “I’m a cowboy, baby!” Cowboy songs I could live without: songs “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone,” “Cowboy Take Me Away,” or any song by Cowboy Troy. There is no need for any hick-hop (yes, he calls his music that) in high school, or pretty much anywhere else. (I can’t believe I wasted $10 on his first CD. How I have learned from my mistakes of being young and working in the electronics department during college.) Other songs about cowboys you can’t help but listen to: “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “El Paso,” “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” or the song voted No. 1 on the CMT list of Top 20 cowboy songs, “Happy Trails.” (Oh no, I have the “El Paso” song in my head now!)
4. The logo on the football helmet or basketball court could be a cowboy hat, or even cooler, the image of a bandit with the bandanna around his face. Think how intimidating that would be. The basketball court could be nicknamed The Cowboy Corral.
5. I could write headlines like: “Cowboys ride into the sunset with SCOL title,” “Cowboys win rodeo, defeat Broncos,” or my personal favorite, “Cowboys boot Falcons.”
6. Gene Autry made a code for Cowboys, and from reading the list, it is a good code to live by, even in this century. (FYI, for anyone under 60, he was a movie actor who played the best role of any cowboy. And he could SANG! Autry was also the longtime owner of the California Angels, no Anaheim, whom are now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. (Gotta love compromise.)
7. According to country music legend Willie Nelson, his heroes have always been cowboys. The best lyrics of the song: “My heroes have always been cowboys. And they still are, it seems.”
8. More potential headlines: “Cowboys lasso Golden Eagles,” “Cowboys in a shootout with Warriors” or “Cowboys stand tall in showdown.”
9. Instead of saying “rebuilding” or “regrouping,” a team called the Cowboys can “reload.”
10. Each game at the gates to pay for tickets the school could have WANTED posters with the opposing team’s logo on it. The REWARD could be a better spot in the standings, or if it was for a league championship, the reward could be to walk tall and stand alone.
The lyrics of “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” explains it better than I can: “With a dream in my eye and prayer in my heart, I should have been a cowboy.”
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
If Southern State Community College is added, then we have Patriots.
I also dream of the time when the city of Hillsboro was not represented by the Indians and were called the Cowboys. How cool would that have been? Not that I don’t like the Indian name. I love hearing the HHS Indians fight song (you know, the one the Florida State Seminoles use), but I have always been a fan of all things about cowboys and the Wild West.
Why did the school district do a 180 and go from Cowboys and switch to the opposite of a cowboy? Makes a person wonder.
I have made a list of 10 reasons why the Cowboys nickname should return.
1. Cowboys have cool hats. The coolest hat of the cowboy is the one worn by Hoss in “Bonanza.” Have you seen it? A big ol’ white 10-gallon hat. A close second is Boss Hog from “The Dukes of Hazzard.”
2. Same nickname as my favorite NFL team. If you have pretty much talked to me once about football or read some of my football columns, you already know that.
3. The band could play the Kid Rock song “Cowboy” before games. OK, not the lyrics of the song, maybe the part where it says, “I’m a cowboy, baby!” Cowboy songs I could live without: songs “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone,” “Cowboy Take Me Away,” or any song by Cowboy Troy. There is no need for any hick-hop (yes, he calls his music that) in high school, or pretty much anywhere else. (I can’t believe I wasted $10 on his first CD. How I have learned from my mistakes of being young and working in the electronics department during college.) Other songs about cowboys you can’t help but listen to: “Rhinestone Cowboy,” “El Paso,” “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” or the song voted No. 1 on the CMT list of Top 20 cowboy songs, “Happy Trails.” (Oh no, I have the “El Paso” song in my head now!)
4. The logo on the football helmet or basketball court could be a cowboy hat, or even cooler, the image of a bandit with the bandanna around his face. Think how intimidating that would be. The basketball court could be nicknamed The Cowboy Corral.
5. I could write headlines like: “Cowboys ride into the sunset with SCOL title,” “Cowboys win rodeo, defeat Broncos,” or my personal favorite, “Cowboys boot Falcons.”
6. Gene Autry made a code for Cowboys, and from reading the list, it is a good code to live by, even in this century. (FYI, for anyone under 60, he was a movie actor who played the best role of any cowboy. And he could SANG! Autry was also the longtime owner of the California Angels, no Anaheim, whom are now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. (Gotta love compromise.)
7. According to country music legend Willie Nelson, his heroes have always been cowboys. The best lyrics of the song: “My heroes have always been cowboys. And they still are, it seems.”
8. More potential headlines: “Cowboys lasso Golden Eagles,” “Cowboys in a shootout with Warriors” or “Cowboys stand tall in showdown.”
9. Instead of saying “rebuilding” or “regrouping,” a team called the Cowboys can “reload.”
10. Each game at the gates to pay for tickets the school could have WANTED posters with the opposing team’s logo on it. The REWARD could be a better spot in the standings, or if it was for a league championship, the reward could be to walk tall and stand alone.
The lyrics of “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” explains it better than I can: “With a dream in my eye and prayer in my heart, I should have been a cowboy.”
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]