Girls vs. Jesus

Issue: Do girls or Jesus cause more controversy?

Short Answer: Apparently Jesus does...

Reasoning: For those of you who did not, or do not, attend St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, well, you are heathens.  I kid (sort of).  Seriously though, St. Xavier is a Jesuit, all-boys high school in the Queen City, which I attended many (many) years ago.  When I was in high school there, we sucked at football.  Now, St. X is a legitimate national power.  They have won two state championships since 2005, and sit at 3-0 this year.  St. X often finds themselves ranked nationally, right now sitting in the #16 slot (side note: Moeller High School is ranked #26, meaning the Greater Catholic League, a league with only 4 teams (Elder and LaSalle are the other two) has two of them ranked in the top 26 in the country, and all four schools are ranked in the top 9 in the state.  Not bad.).  So, Cincinnati was abuzz last Friday when the then #25 St. X Bombers (a private school) travelled to play the nationally ranked #22 Colerain Cardinals (a public school) in what turned out to be a phenomenal game.  What happened after the game, unfortunately, is what has been reported on more than the game itself.

Here is how the game ended: With St. X up 17-14, Colerain drove down to the St. X 28-yard line.  Colerain then set up to attempt a 45-yard field goal, which, for a high school kicker is not an easy kick.  But Colerain's kicker is one of the best in the city, so him making it was not even close to out of the realm of possibility.  Steve Specht, St. X's head coach, had a few tricks up his sleeve, however.  Right before Colerain snapped the ball for the field goal attempt, Specht called timeout.  When Colerain lined up again for the attempt, Specht called another timeout.  Colerain lined up, again, to attempt the field goal, and Specht called St. X's final timeout.  No use taking timeouts to the locker room, right?  Finally, after three straight timeouts, Colerain lined up for the kick, and missed.  St. X wins.  You can imagine how upset the Colerain players, coaches, and fans probably felt at that very moment.  The Colerain student section then decided they didn't like to lose, and let the St. X students know that "WE'VE GOT GIRLS!!!"  In retaliation to that, the St. X student section let loose with "WE'VE GOT JESUS!!!"  Colerain head coach Tom Bolden didn't like that too much, broke out of the team huddle, and proceeded to chastise the St. X student section.  My question is: Why?

Let's take a look at both chants.  "WE'VE GOT GIRLS," is unoriginal at best.  Chants like this were going on when I was in high school and probably decades before that.  Opposing schools lock on to the one thing that is clearly different about St. X, and go with it.  The implication here is that if you go to school with all boys, then you are clearly a homosexual.  Which, when we are talking about high-schoolers, seems like an awful thing to be chanting about at a football game.  There are all-girls schools in Cincinnati too; do you think they hear chants like "WE'VE GOT BOYS!!!" at their sporting events?  I should think not.  However, as a St. X student, you understand why opposing schools chant what they chant, and you deal with it.  The problem is, St. X students are not allowed to chant things that make fun of other schools (e.g., "THAT'S ALRIGHT, THAT'S OK, YOU'RE GONNA WORK FOR US SOMEDAY!!!"), as the administration will not allow it.  So, the St. X students chanted "WE'VE GOT JESUS!!!"  This chant is clearly original, and, well, clearly funny.  I'm assuming the implication here is, since "we have Jesus," that you, i.e., Colerain, does not have Jesus.  Or, at least that would explain Tom Bolden's reaction.  But, I believe there is more too it than that.  St. X kids are too smart for that (at least I think - St. X kids are sometimes the dumbest smart kids I know).  The St. X student body doesn't defend going to school with all boys.  We understand how that looks to a bunch of teenagers who go to co-ed schools.  If they allowed girls at St. X, not one kid there would complain.  So, we roll with it.  Colerain chants "WE'VE GOT GIRLS!!!" so the St. X body says "well, you've got us there," but, at least "WE'VE GOT JESUS!!!"  See what I mean?

This is basically a non-issue.  I've in fact been informed that the two coaches have talked, and both realize this has been sensationalized by the media.  And, the fact that the game involved two teams ranked in the top 25 in the country, means it has reached the national media.  Don't believe me?  Check this out.  It's a shame such a good game has turned into talks about teenagers chanting after the game.  Although, to be fair, St. X snapped Colerain's 61-game home winning streak, so perhaps they forgot how to be gracious losers.

#16 St. X takes on #3 Louisville Trinity at St. X High School this Friday.  Let's hope the two teams leave girls and Jesus out of it, and just play some football.  Go Bombers!!