Cyclone Fever – you can just feel it in the air
Published 12:13 am Thursday, December 5, 2019
To say there is a fever-pitch to the week would be an understatement as the Elizabethton Cyclone football team is being talked about everywhere including neighboring cities and communities who are now officially Cyclones as the team prepares for it’s Saturday BlueCross Bowl Championship showdown with Springfield in Cookeville.
The fever has spread like wildfire and people can’t get their tickets quick enough as at the time of this writing 1500 tickets have been sold in just a matter of a few hours for the game with more coming for anxious fans wanting to get into Saturday’s contest at Tennessee Tech.
I know that the Cyclone athletic department is appreciative of Cyclone Nation’s willingness to be patient and buy tickets from the school as more money will be kept in the school when the tickets are purchased at Elizabethton High School.
It doesn’t matter where I go in town right now, the same question is asked of me, “Ivan what do you think about the game?” My response has been steadfast and unmovable as I truly believe that Elizabethton is at least two if not three touchdowns better than Springfield.
There is an air of confidence about this team, unlike any teams that I have been around in my years of covering state championship games at Gate City High School in football and also at McMinn Central in the Athens area for basketball.
It’s not an ego confidence but just a belief in one another – a brotherhood bond that has sealed this team throughout the season as they continue to make history winning more than 12 games in a season and carrying a 14-0 record into the very last football game of the 2019 season.
And kudos also have to be given here to head coach Shawn Witten and his staff who have done a tremendous job of studying hours of film and formulating game plans for every game including preparing two different plans for both Sullivan South and Greeneville and then the teams that are less familiar to the staff.
Everything has fit together like a glove from a football standpoint and the commitment that this team made even before school even started in August to show up early in the morning to lift weights to get stronger and stronger and even more stronger.
Some ask me what I think the difference is and that is the first thing I visit is the work that has been put into the weight room. I don’t know if many fans have noticed what made Greeneville special in years past but all it took was a look at the physical statue of the team allowing them to outmuscle their opponents.
The same can be said about the Cyclones this season as I have stood on the sidelines and watched team after team in the third and fourth quarter literally stand with their hands on their hips gasping for air while the Cyclones looked like they could go four more quarters if needed.
With the weight program, there have been a reduced number of injuries to the players and even if a player has been dinged up, they are able to heal quicker due to being in better shape.
It has been a special year for me to have been blessed to cover this team. I was honored to take over as the Star Sports Editor in April and little did I realize that I would be stepping into such a special football season for the Cyclones.
Having the opportunity to sit and talk football with Coach Shawn Witten and retired defensive coordinator Stan Ogg has been such a rich experience for me as a sports journalist just listening to these guys talk football and learning much from them.
To say I am as stoked as the team and coaches would be an understatement. My main concern as the local Sports Editor is to make sure that I do the best job possible for these guys to capture and retain the legacy that the 2019 Elizabethton Cyclone football team is leaving.
I think there is a lot being overlooked in what is happening right now in our town and community. It has been nearly 81 years since a team from Elizabethton High School has won a state football championship – 81 years!
And one more thing – this is just not about a football team but about community. It’s about everyone for one week putting aside the colors of the other four high schools, slipping on something orange, and proudly proclaiming that I am a Cyclone.
As I said earlier, there are folks that have told me they have friends that have kids in the school system at Science Hill, David Crockett, Daniel Boone, and other schools that for this week are Cyclones.
Why one might ask. Because Elizabethton represents the hopes and dreams of other teams in Northeast Tennessee including the Unaka’s, Cloudland’s, Hampton’s, and Happy Valley’s that want the opportunity to play for a state championship.
It could have been a Nashville-area championship on Saturday but it’s not. It’s Northeast Tennessee’s own Elizabethton Cyclones against the Nashville area’s Springfield.
Yes, there is Orange Fever going around and the temperature continues to rise as game day draws closer.
And by 7 pm Saturday night, that Orange fever will hopefully turn Gold as the BlueCross Bowl Championship gold football will be headed back up Interstate 81 and 26 onto the Elizabethton Highway as it makes its way to the trophy case at Elizabethton High School.
With that being said – G-O C-Y-C-L-O-N-E-S!!
