Bowling Green gets behind its football team

 Blame it on Cotton Fitzsimmons.
   The late prep star and professional coach helped spark the flames of fan support for basketball in Bowling Green.
   For more than 50 years, the only leather that really mattered in this community of 3,287 was round.
   Oh, sure, a lot of boys slung the spheroid each fall, but hoops always was the superior sport.
   A state championship in 1962. A fourth-place finish in 2007.
   And along the way, appearance after hard court appearance in the playoffs.
   That dominance is waning a bit as the Bowling Green football team continues its quest for a state football championship.
   The 12-0 Bobcats play the 6-6 Mexico Bulldogs in the quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Bowling Green.
   “Basketball is king in Bowling Green, but it was the time for football this year,” said Paul Wilson, who broadcasts Bobcats games on KJFM Radio.

‘Moment to shine’
   Some have a tough time explaining this year’s good fortune.
   Others credit the arrival of Coach Jimmy Tucker as the turning point for a program that was winless just a few years ago.
   Still, many can’t put their fingers on why basketball always has gotten more attention.
   “I don’t know why we’re a basketball town,” said Nancy Cox, whose son, Ryan, plays on this year’s football team. “I think it has something to do with the championship in 1962. I’ve never understood it myself. We’re trying to change that now.”
   Jerry Hickerson, publisher of The People’s Tribune weekly newspaper, has spent many a Friday night traipsing the sidelines for photos.
   “We’ve never had winning football teams up until the last few years,” Hickerson said. “We’ve been lucky to be .500.”
   Barb Erickson hears the regulars talking about football at Me-Me’s Pantry restaurant near the square. She also has a son, Andy, on the team, and said this year’s run has been magical.
   “Football has never been this far,” Erickson said. “This is their moment to shine.”

Past presence
   Fitzsimmons probably wouldn’t be a basketball star today.
   He was only 5 feet 7 inches tall and was as light as a feather.
   The Fitzsimmons family bounced around Northeast Missouri for several years until landing in Bowling Green when Lowell (his given name) was in fourth grade.
   Classmates gave him the nickname “Cotton” because of his whitish blond hair. As he grew, Fitzsimmons developed speed and a killer shot.
   David Hurd remembers trying to guard him.
   “You couldn’t hold him,” Hurd said. “He would come from anywhere and everywhere. He aggravated people. He made people look so damn bad.”
   Fitzsimmons would later credit his no-nonsense coach, James A. Wilson, with helping him learn lessons on and off the court.
   With Fitzsimmons, Bowling Green twice advanced to the state high school basketball tournament, but never won.
   Fitzsimmons played at Hannibal-LaGrange College and went on to a coaching career with four National Basketball Association teams. He died at age 72 in 2004.

Several similarities
   Like Fitzsimmons, many of this year’s Bobcats football players aren’t especially big.
   In the Nov. 4 regional, Lutheran North receivers had a height advantage of several inches over their Bowling Green defenders.
   But a tenacious offensive attack and a smothering defense helped the Bobcats defeat the Crusaders 45-15.
   “They play good, fundamental football,” said Wilson, the broadcaster. “They’re focused like I’ve never seen a team play in Bowling Green.”
   Rick Spegal, whose son, Cody, is a senior on the team, credits Tucker.
   “Coach Tucker brought a different mentality to town,” Spegal said. “He’s turned everything around. He’s done wonders with the football program.”
   Tucker “has a football mind,” agreed Wilson.
   The Bobcats have popular players, but no superstars.
   They’re gritty, driven and committed.
   They also are focused, balanced and unselfish.
   In a way, they live up to something Fitzsimmons once said: “Whether you're winning or losing, it is important to always be yourself. You can't change because of the circumstances around you.”
   The Bobcats accept what they can’t change and play to their skills.
   “Our smaller guys got the fight in them,” Cox said. “It’s determination.”
   “They don’t have a hero,” said Vicky Carter, whose son, Justin Graver, is on the team. “They’re constantly complimenting each other.”

Looking ahead
   Even before the Mexico Bulldogs step onto the field, they may be a bit intimidated.
   Bowling Green seems to be festooned in Bobcats colors from one end of town to the other.
   Cars are decorated with stickers or feature hand-painted sayings such as “Good Luck” and “Go, Bobcats.”
   “Everywhere you look, you see black and red and Bobcat pride,” Hickerson said.
   The buzz is contagious.
   Hickerson said people from nearby towns and teams have even gotten on the bandwagon by attending games and cheering on the Bobcats, a phenomenon that doesn’t surprise the staid editor.
   “They’re competitors, but when the game’s over, they’re all friends,” he said.
   One certainty about Saturday’s game is that it will be crowded.
   After all, Bowling Green outdrew one of its playoff opponents by more than double the number of fans.
   And that was a road game.
   “Somebody asked me ‘Is there anybody left in Bowling Green?’” Erickson recalled. “I said ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet.’”
   Spegal agrees with Erickson about the school’s football prowess, even though his son is graduating.
   “Next year’s team is going to be just as good,” Spegal said.
   Win or lose, the Bobcats likely will do something that’s become common once the final seconds tick away.
   After asking permission from the other team, the Bobcats will kneel in prayer.
   Before anybody calls the ACLU, it’s all student-originated and student-led.
   “There’s a unique bonding there,” Carter said. “This has been an amazing year.”