making the case JEFF KIRBY
Imagine for a moment if all Ohio State fans suddenly became Michigan fans. Or if all Pepsi workers abruptly bought Coca-Cola stock. Or imagine if anyone liked Jeff Gordon again.
This story is right up there. Springboro’s football team plays at Lebanon Friday night, and though this is now the most intense rivalry for both schools, I have to admit I now have a soft spot for Springboro’s “enemy.”
I used to absolutely despise everything about Lebanon. I came by it honestly, too, because I played for Franklin High School, back when Springboro couldn’t think of playing a school the size of Lebanon.
Lebanon was a bitter league and county rival, the one game we looked forward to the most. As a result, there was nothing about Lebanon I liked. I hated their colors. I disliked their fans. Not only did I want my teams to beat the Warriors, I rooted for everyone else to do so, too.
Such is the way of a high school athlete. Today’s players can identify with such feelings. But then something unexpected happened to me. This is evidence that we never know the direction life will take us.
In college, I started hanging around some people from Lebanon. I played basketball with some guys who bled Warrior maroon, and I soon came to a startling realization — they weren’t morons, as I had previously assumed. They were smart, tough, and considerate, too.
One teammate gave me a towel to chomp on while a trainer repaired my twisted ankle. He said it was normally a crying towel he gave to opponents, but he let me have it instead. What a guy.
Then I later wrote for a newspaper that was headquartered there. For a while, I even called Lebanon home.
Times changed quickly. So did my attitude about this historic, quaint little town.
One day I was assigned to write a feature about someone who, at the time, was the newest cast member of the TV show, “Cheers.” Woody Harrelson was a 1979 graduate of Lebanon High School. Turns out he was really a nice guy, a real host when I had a chance to go to Hollywood and to watch a rehearsal and a taping of one of the episodes.
Another day I was given a CD of a new country act known as Diamond Rio. Their music was moving as much as it was entertaining. Marty Roe, the band’s lead singer, was another 1979 graduate of Lebanon High School. Turns out he’s a really nice guy, too, with a brother who lives in Springboro.
Suddenly, worlds were colliding.
Neil Armstrong lived in Lebanon. The movie “Harper Valley PTA” was filmed in Lebanon. I had jury duty one week in 1983 in Lebanon and, as it turned out, the experience shaped my entire future, causing me to go to law school.
I’ve since spent half my life in Lebanon courtrooms.
In 1997, I followed a news story that featured Lebanon’s Jim Van DeGrift, the one-time Warrior football coach in whose honor their football stadium is named. He’d been severely burned to the point he was expected to die, but through shear determination and faith he survived. He’s now a color commentator for all Warrior football and basketball games. And a true Lebanon legend, deservedly so. People don’t come with any more integrity than coach Vandy.
Now they have a head football coach who I’ve known forever, and respect and admire. Shawn Lamb is a 1991 Franklin High School graduate, someone who in his heyday helped make the Wildcats a proven winner. You gotta’ love a guy like that. But more than that he’s a great person, a champion of high school athletics who believes in the character and camaraderie they can build. If I had a son who was a football player, I’d want him to have a coach like Shawn.
Lebanon, as it turns out, has some real class to its act.
So I will be at the game tomorrow night, to watch a great game involving successful programs that represent their respective towns.
Lebanon may be Springboro’s opponent, but it’s not “the enemy” for me anymore. But that doesn’t mean I’ll root for the Warriors.
I’ll give them their due. I’ll give them respect. I’ll give them all sort of compliments and handshakes and wishes for a successful life.
But I’ll also give them an old crying towel I happen to have handy. After all, one good turn deserves another.
Jeff Kirby is a lawyer and writer who lives in Springboro. He can be reached at jeffkirby1@aol.com.