Tonight will be my third week covering local high school football, and as someone who never followed the sport, the past few weeks have been quite the learning experience.

I attended my fair share of high school football games in my days as a Fontainebleau High School Bulldog, dressed for the theme of each week.

Growing up, my dad would clap and holler at the television every Sunday during football season as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots represented his hometown. However, I’d be in the next room reading a book, so the rules of the game mostly escaped my attention.

The most important things I learned from overhearing my father’s shouts were that the New York Giants are bad, and the Manning’s are worse.

Yet, covering our local football teams has admittedly been more exciting that I originally anticipated.

Both the Picayune vs. St. Martin and Poplarville vs. Stone games were incredibly emotional as the teams took home a win.

Once I got the handle on the difference between passing and rushing touchdowns, the rest was easy.

Standing on the sidelines with the team and snapping photos, you really start to feel the intense energy of the game; it’s much better than watching from home.

By some unknown twist of events and personal character, this weekend I’ll be throwing myself into the sport again as I make my way over to Baton Rouge to attend the LSU and Mississippi State game.

I’ll always contend that baseball is America’s sport, but football has definitely grown on me, just a bit.