Sunday, the Houston Chronicle published pictures of some of the most opulent stadiums from the land of Friday Night Lights. Breathtaking in size and scope. Our Wildcat Stadium in Temple (left) seems an exercise in restraint by comparison, as if it were from Clark Kent's formative years in Smallville before Superman took flight. Honestly, my own dad thought it was for a junior college when he came to visit from the bayous of Louisiana ( where nothing like this exists.)

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If you read the article - and I highly recommend it - It seems like the metro areas of Dallas and Houston are competing with each other to see which part of Texas has the most grand ball palaces in the Lone Star State.  A few years back, the article notes, a high school in Dallas spent $60 million on a new stadium facility. It's only natural a high school in the Houston area now wants to spend $62 million.  The article also notes that a school district in Whittier, California spent $72 million....and built four stadiums.

It amazes me that in one of the reddest states on the map, a conservative Republican stronghold, taxpayer dollars are used in such lofty amounts with nary a peep from constituents. Football is bigger than governments and ideologies, apparently.

I offer no judgment.  If the taxpayers want to gold-plate the toilet seats and they can afford it, then by all means. At least the youth in Texas will get some use from these structures.  If I were those kids, I would get on my knees and thank the Lord  he placed me in a time of such prosperity ; he's the one thing in their lives bigger than football.

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