WHAT’S CAUSING ALL THIS? | ETBlitz Road Show Thursday at Tatum, Friday in Carthage! And LIVE on YouTube!

Well, the great experiment is this Thursday night, then again on Friday night.

And I’m the idiot at the wheel.

Now, that’s a scary thought, isn’t it?

I’m talking about the ETBlitz Road Show, a kickoff show that not only begins on Thursday, but begins LIVE Thursday night – with no safety net – live on the ETBlitz YouTube channel, from Tatum ISD’s Eagle Stadium, a 6:30 p.m. start time prior to the kickoff of those Tatum High School Eagles hosting Winnsboro.

And then, on Friday, we’ll be at Carthage ISD Stadium for the Kilgore High School Bulldogs – ranked No. 5 in the state in UIL Class 4A, Division I in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football poll – against Carthage, who just happens to, you know, be ranked No. 1 in the 4A-DII poll.

That’ll also begin at 6:30.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

— wayne Gretzky

And if you’re reading this, wondering if I’m crazy, then yes – I just might be. Who the heck tries a LIVE KICKOFF SHOW before a Friday night high school football game, a little less than an hour before kickoff?

Well, we do. And let me tell you why, and why not.

There’s all kinds of reasons to NOT do this.

1. You never know WHAT will happen on live TV.
2. Tech difficulties could screw you up. Royally. Shouldn’t happen, but the Titanic was unsinkable, Dewey “defeated” Truman, Buster Douglas should not have beaten Mike Tyson, and the hare had the tortoise beat, right?
3. You NEVER know WHAT will happen on LIVE TV.
4. People could slip up and say something they really shouldn’t say.
5. There’s the time crunch before a high school football game.
6. What if you get knocked the ____ out? Sports Reporter Knocked Out by Football Player).
7. And you never know what the heck will happen on live TV. Have I mentioned that one?

On the other hand, there are all kinds of reasons TO DO THIS.

1. It’ll be fun!
2. The matchups! Tatum is one of the great small-school traditional powers in the East Texas region, and coach Whitney Keeling is an old friend of mine. We go back almost a quarter-century. I believe Whit can turn Tatum around. And Winnsboro – they’re state-ranked. They’re a quality opponent for the Eagles right off the jump.

Do I have to even say anything about Kilgore-Carthage? This is a rivalry that goes back decades. Carthage has won more state titles than they’ve made Marvel movies the last 15 years, but the one team that’s been the biggest thorn in their side: Kilgore, who almost beat ‘em last year. They escaped Kilgore with a 30-27 win.

• A live kickoff show will bring even more excitement to a sport, and I’m talking about high school football in East Texas, that already feels like it’s the top of the mountain here.
• It might produce some moments we’ll remember for a long, long time.
• You never know what’ll happen on live TV.

So, here’s the deal.

• I’m not gonna tell you who all will be live on the show. You’ll have to watch to find out. I will tell you there will be a special guest on Thursday night and a different special guest on Friday.
• I’ll also tell you we’ll talk football, but if you’re expecting this show to just be an X’s and O’s football show, then you do not know me. I love football more than just about anybody. But it can’t be just X’s and O’s, or three-fourths of our audience wouldn’t watch. We’re gonna have fun.
• I know there will be a lot of you guys that will be at freshmen and junior varsity games on Thursday night. But I’m asking you, if you’re home and not at a game, give us a try. Go to YouTube, and simply search the ETBlitz channel. We actually already have quite a bit of content there. We’ll be rehearsing a little bit between now and Thursday.

Excited? Yeah. Scared? Yeah, to death. Adrenaline? Pumping like heck.

Crash and burn?

Man, I hope not. But if I do, you’ll all see it live on YouTube.

Hope to see y’all Thursday & Friday.