Pigskin weekend began with Friday Night Lights at Ithaca High School. What was once known as Bredbenner Field is now called Bredbenner Field/Joe Moresco Stadium. It's a fitting extension after the career Moresco had as coach of the Little Red from 1956 to 1983, compiling a 141-81-14 record in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference when the league was revered throughout New York State. Battles with Vestal coached by Dick Hoover and Union-Endicott under the leadership of Fran Angeline are lore in the Southern Tier. I suited up for the Little Red in the mid 1970's, the tail end of the Ithaca High powerhouse years. All I can tell you is that it was an honor and privilege to play for Joe Moresco.
By today's standards, Joe would be considered an antiquated pariah, but for the period I played, he was nothing short of spectacular. That's not to say he didn't have his detractors. He was our Vince Lombardi and in a liberal college town, his authoritarian methods didn't sit well with some of the townspeople. Both parents and students alike. However, we're talking football here. When you're young, it's just a game, but as you get older, you realize it's a violent sport. It took me almost 60 years to understand some people don't like football and Lacrosse players because of the violent nature of the sports. I played both. Sometimes you have to pick your poison, especially during those teenage years when hormones run wild. I relished the discipline, and it helped mold me as a person.
What distinguishes football from most other athletic endeavors is its militaristic structure. Essentially, you're given a set of instructions, and you're supposed to execute those assignments for the benefit of the team. No questions asked. It's like a computer program. Garbage in. Garbage Out. Like Mr. Moresco used to tell us, "You can't shine shit.". You took pride in your performance and like a seasoned actor, tried to hit your marks on cue. I took a leap of faith that not only Joe Moresco knew what he was doing, but all of my coaches in all sports I participated in did too. You notice the plural in sports. No specialization 45 years ago. Whether it be football or Lacrosse or Winter track, my coaches were looking out for my better good. Today's youth tends to question everything, and although that can be a great quality, it also has its drawbacks.
Joe ran a tight ship. Because of his emphasis on weight training and aerobic conditioning year round, you could go full-tilt from the first kickoff of the Fall. Ready to do battle. My senior year we were vastly undersized, so we needed every edge we could get. The entire team pumped iron before it became mainstream in high school athletics. We hit the gym for three years just to be prepared for the big stage of the varsity team. Sometimes we'd get 7,000 spectators a game. Moresco said we had a lot of 'moxie'. “It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.” No doubt a football cliché, but apropos for my teammates. We competed mano-a-mano against some of the top ranked teams in the state. Nothing to hang your head about.
I have vague memories of all the X's and O's, or the down and distance of important plays, or even the final scores of that senior year. What I do remember are the friendships I cultivated. I don't know what it is about football. Perhaps because you're putting yourself in harm's way, there's a camaraderie that you don't get in sports like track and field. Even Lacrosse to a lesser extent. Football has the infamous double sessions of training camp with full contact drills. Those I remember. Still sore forty plus years later, but it toughened you up. I keep in contact with some of my teammates and it's like time has never passed. We talk about all the sacrifice and struggle it took the be up to snuff for the Ithaca Little Red. It's been many years since we were dressed in full regalia representing our school. Now we're retiring and are becoming grandparents.
I try to attend an Ithaca High School football game at least once a season. What was once one of the best programs in the state is now a doormat for former equals. We're the team everybody schedules for homecoming because it's an easy win. You can't put the blame on anybody. It's not the coach or the players or the town. It just happened. Times changed. It doesn't make me sad that the program is in such disarray, and has been so for the better part of 25 years. What gets me down is knowing the current football players will never know what it's like to feel the power and the glory of making lifelong friends from a positive shared experience. You're not going to get that strong bond by losing. Nevertheless, I bought my senior citizen ticket Friday night and rooted the team on. They were losing 35 to nothing at halftime. Needless to say I didn't stay for the second half. Joe Moresco is rolling over in his grave. May he rest in peace.
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