The Rams are headed to Texas, and the North Birmingham community has their back!
Elected officials and community partners gathered today in the library at George Washington Carver High School to wish good luck to the football team, marching band, and cheer squad before they depart tomorrow from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport for Odessa, Texas.
On Friday, the Rams will face off against the Permian Panthers in an interstate high school football clash dubbed the Friday Night Lights Classic. The Texan team is the subject of the book Friday Night Lights and the muse for the subsequent movie and TV series of the same name.
The send-off served as an opportunity to say thanks to the invited guests, who donated a combined $125,000 to fund the team’s trip to Texas and enable the band and cheerleaders to accompany them.
Attending the ceremony were State Representatives Mary Moore (District 59) and Neil Rafferty (District 54), State Senator Rodger Smitherman (District 18), North Birmingham Neighborhood Association President Jimmy Coleman, Toney Pugh of the Birmingham Athletic Partnership, and Emily House and Nena Thomas from ACIPCO. Each guest was presented with a special gift and a t-shirt commemorating the game.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan, Athletic Director Henry Pope, Carver Principal Tiki Hines, and Carver Coach Rod Carson addressed the audience on behalf of the district and school, while students Dimitri Howard, Kaci Barron, and Jacob Woods expressed their thanks on behalf of the football team, cheerleaders, and band, respectively.
