Winding down of summer, beginning of school, and most of all...FOOTBALL!

 Winding down of summer, beginning of school, and most of all...FOOTBALL!

By Keno Sultan

C-Town Radio announcer and statistician

CANTON--As summer moves into the late phases of the season right around this time, parents are completing their final shopping assigments for their children. Most kids around this time will be on their way to a respective college or university of their commitment. Others will be facing the rigorous challenges of high school, the comeuppance of middle school, and the forging of an early future path in elementary school.

August means back-to-school. And that also means the return of a pasttime sport we all love...football.

We all remember those days as summer vacation started to cease. Most of us looked forward to another school year while others were not ready to return, which is understandable. However, the moment anyone mentions football, that will stir up rampant excitement in a hurry.

Yesterday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium (formerly Fawcett Stadium), the Cleveland Browns competed in their second Pro Football Hall of Fame Game for the first time since their return to NFL competition after a three-year hiatus away from the league when late and oft-maligned owner Art Modell relocated the team to Baltimore to close the 1995 season. Like the 1999 Hall of Fame Game when they were triumphant over Dallas, the Browns defeated a New York Jets team that was making their first appearance in the annual preseason contest for the first time in 31 years.

Football also means tailgating and camaraderie as well. Whereas Sundays will mean a slate of professional football contests, Saturdays call for a huge diet of college football matches, and Fridays possess a platter of high school confrontations. And then there will be the occasional Monday and Thursday night NFL affairs (several college games may be included in that as well). It will be a long seven-month march of big plays, game-winning moments, the thrill of triumph and the dejection of defeat that will end for high school teams in Ohio with an appearance in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium as one of 14 teams in seven divisions competing for an OHSAA state playoff championship in late November or early December, for four college teams in late December and early January gunning for a national championship in the final College Football Playoff before it widens to 12 teams, and concluding in February with the AFC and NFC champions competing for the 58th Super Bowl title in Las Vegas, which will mark the third straight season an NFL championship will be played inside a dome.

Now let's return to the school part of this post. Parents are already at work on back-to-school shopping for their children. Teachers are constructing the final touches on their classrooms as they will welcome students back for another year along with administrators. There will be pristine classrooms for students, new challenges, old friends and new friends and everything else that arrives as the academic year is on the horizon.

A new year also means final activities to celebrate the end of summer. Pupils will receive new school supplies not just from stores but community centers and churches too along with new clothes, shoes, and backpacks along the way. There will be prayer services for children and parents for safety and success for the upcoming year. Young children will also receive the free traditional haircuts (boys) and the styling of hair (girls) and a lot of momentum traversing into the 2023-24 school year. Parents will either drive their kids to school or gleefully watch them make their way up the steps on the school bus amid that traditional goodbye wave. And let's not forget the notes left in a child's lunch too.

Canton City Schools will commence the new year August 16th. With that said, here is to all boys and girls from elementary and middle up to high school, teachers, administrators, and coaches for a very prosperous year with many blessings of happiness and good will for success. And also, best wishes to Canton residents who are staying in state or traveling out of state for their respective college or university of their choice.

Also a special shout-out to Aaron Sims Sr., Jeff Woodson, and everyone else who have inspired me during my time as a sports journalist. You are all respected and loved by me so much.

Keno Sultan can be reached at 330-445-4575 or email at KenoSultan@hotmail.com.