Saturday Morning Quarterback

I've written quite a bit about the often-contentious nature of the Watertown-Friendship Christian rivalry through the years.
It gives me great pleasure to write about the other side which was on display at the teams' basketball double header at the FCS Sportsplex on Tuesday.
Public address announcer Terry Stephens said a donation jar (or something like that) was set up in the lobby for folks to contribute to the Watertown cheerleaders, who are in the midst of a fundraising effort to pay for a trip to the National High School Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Fla., next month.
Apparently it was done entirely on Friendship's volition because cheerleading coach Nicholle Dorris, a Purple Tiger through and through, told Stephens she was speechless over the gesture. She asked for the mike and thanked the Friendship fans for their generosity and they responded with heartfelt applause.
Arriving at work the next day, I had a voice message from her mother, Watertown alderwoman Paulette (a retired WHS math teacher who coached the cheerleaders before her daughter took the reins), who said she wanted people to know $882 was raised at Friendship the night before.
It was heartwarming to see two schools who fight like cats and dogs on the field and court treat each other as friendly neighbors off it.
Speaking of the fundraising campaign, the eagerly-anticipated "Dude Looks Like a Lady" contest is set for 7 p.m. tonight at the Watertown gym. Mayor Mike Jennings and former Lebanon High basketball coach Randall Hutto, a WHS graduate, are among the local notables who will join Purple Tiger football and basketball players in trying to bring out their feminine side. It'll be good for a hoot and a hollar, or at least a few laughs.
Tickets are $3 for ages 6-12 and $5 for 13-older. Kids 5-under get in free.
Also, the Watertown Volunteer Fire Department will hold a fish fry from noon-8 p.m. next Saturday at the Community Center. Eight dollars will get you all the catfish, chicken and all the fixins you can stuff.
The nationals are Feb. 8-12 and ESPN will be televising. Go, Tigers!

The South rose again
Football withdrawal is starting to set in now that bowl games aren't on seven nights a week. The NFL playoffs will provide a weekend fix for a few more weeks before the countdown to March Madness begins.
But at least SEC fans in general and Florida fans in particular can begin their offseason of well-deserved crowing.
Bowl season began with some folks insisting Michigan belonged in the top two of the BCS and deserved a rematch with Ohio State in the national championship game. But most seemed to think the Wolverines had their chance at the Buckeyes and the Gators moved into No. 2 after USC was upset by UCLA.
As it turned out, USC silenced the Michigan marching and chowder society with a convincing win in the Rose Bowl.
But what was shocking was how the Buckeyes, the consensus wire-to-wire No. 1, looked like they didn't belong in the championship game either.
In fact, if the talked-about "And One" game, which some proposals say would pit the alleged top two teams after the bowls, was played this year, my vote would go toward a Florida-USC matchup.
It's hard for some Tennessee fans to root for Florida. But the Gators put a resounding exclamation point on a season in which most pundits said the best college football was played in the SEC.
Sports Editor Andy Reed can be reached at 444-3952 ext. 17 or by e-mail at andy.reed@lebanondemocrat.com.