City rallies in effort to bring home TitleTown honor
By DAVE POEArticle Photos
PARKERSBURG - Community pride was clearly on display Friday afternoon at Stadium Field, where athletic teams and supporters of Parkersburg High School, Parkersburg South and Parkersburg Catholic united to put on a rousing TitleTown USA celebration for the ESPN cameras.
More than 4,000 persons came early and stayed late as Parkersburg celebrated like it never had celebrated before.
Big Reds, Patriots and Crusaders stood side-by-side in celebration of the 192 state high school championships won by the three city schools.
Their antics were captured by ESPN, which will feature Parkersburg during its SportsCenter broadcasts at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. next Tuesday, as well as during SportCenter replays on Wednesday morning. Plus, as a promo for its TitleTown segment, ESPN Classic will broadcast a replay of the 2006 Parkersburg High-Parkersburg South football game at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Long before the Stadium Field gates opened at 4 p.m., its adjacent parking lot was littered with tailgaters from the three high schools. Some put up tents in an effort to beat the 90-degree heat and high humidity, which proved to be a tough opponent and caused several persons overcome by heat to be transported by local hospitals.
Others decided to expose themselves to the elements, a small price to pay to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
"Show America you are TitleTown USA,'' ESPN producer Adam Hertzog shouted to the crowd. And that's all it needed to hear, breaking into a loud and loud cheer, a scene that happened time and again as the cameras kept rolling.
Wendi Nix, who anchored ESPN's segment, told the crowd she felt welcome here.
"Who needs all of those big cities,'' she said. "Do any of the other cities have 192 state titles. I say no."
The program, coordinated by Parkersburg High School Athletics Director Richard Lance, started on cue just before 5 p.m. and kept the crowd enthused and entertained until filming began at 6 p.m.
In addition to numerous drawing for prizes donated by local businesses, the program also featured performances by the combined Parkersburg High and Parkersburg South bands, as well as cheerleaders and dance teams.
One of the most popular moments was when skydiver Ted Williams leaped out of a helicopter and glided his way into the stadium, nearly hitting the 50-yard line stripe. He was carrying a banner touting Parkersburg as TitleTown that bore the logos of all three high schools.
That sent the crowd into one of its many chants, "E-S-P-N, Parkersburg is going to win.''
Whether or not Parkersburg wins the TitleTown USA competition will be determined by the number of votes it receives at ESPN.com. Voting among the 20 finalists will begin on July 23.
Making Parkersburg's case was Mike Hayden, a Parkersburg native who was an all-state running back at Parkersburg High, a successful football coach at Parkersburg South, the athletics director at PHS and the executive secretary of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission.
When asked by Nix what it was all about, Hayden quickly replied, "It's about these kids. They are our most valuable asset.''
Hayden emphasized that Parkersburg isn't a professional sports town where many get rich off of sports. Rather, he said, it a blue-collar town that emphasizes high school athletics.
Hayden noted there are more than 17,000 high schools in the United States and the majority of those never have experienced a single championship. To have three schools win 192 titles should make Parkersburg the perfect example for the rest of America.
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expat98
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07-23-08 8:07 PM
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I was surprised to see so few people from South and Catholic. The stands was mostly a sea of red. This was an event for a city honor, even if the event was held in the Big Red's field. ALL schools fans needed to be out in full force. I was also surprised by how so many people LEFT shortly after 6--just as the filming began. There were lots of gaping holes left on the 50 yard line just where the cameras were focused. The turnout for this was far under what I expected.
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halfhill
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07-19-08 10:22 AM
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Old timers remember another great recognition for Parkersburg over many years. One that was truly international--THE BIG RED BAND UNDER GEORGE DIETZ--won 1st Place in different categories starting in the 1930's into the 1940's every time they entered the competition of bands all over this country and Canada, etc. This was sponsored by Lions International.
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