Each week I get the honor of being the ball boy for the St. Cloud Bulldogs. Like thousands of southern towns, football is a religion here in St. Cloud, partly because of how serious all the participants take the process.

There gridiron heroes that get all the ink are the players and coaches, but there are literally hundreds of others that make the events so gala. Rarely are they ever mentioned in passing, not just at St. Cloud but at every high school in the nation.

The safety of the athletes is one of those things most fans take for granted. Make no mistake, the coaches and the players don't. The trainers, be they paid staff or student trainers, take their responsibilities very seriously. They are schooled in what to look for in the way of injuries and concussions.

Occasionally they are mentioned by the press box announcers, which is nice, but beyond the occasional atta-boy or atta-girl they get at home, they are the invisible cast members on the sidelines.

And then there are the cheerleaders and their advisors. If football is a religion, cheerleading is a passion that dwarfs the religion, at least here in St. Cloud. The Bulldog faithful are routinely cheered on by dozens of the prettiest young women in all of Florida.

It's not uncommon to see more cheerleaders that football players on the sidelines and these gals pretty much foot their own bill for the privilege of participating. At a recent Senior Night, there were hundreds of beautiful girls on the Bulldog sideline. The school invited the cheerleaders from the Pop Warner levels to participate as well. You won't have to worry about running out of cheerleaders anytime soon.

I defy you to find a harder working group of people than the St. Cloud Bulldog Band and the Band Boosters. This is not incidental to St. Cloud. Every other high school band in the nation is the same way. These kids practice for scores of hours each week to ready themselves for the big game. Beginning in the summer, they march for hours on end in the 100 degree plus heat. They spend their Saturday's washing cars selling goodies to raise enough money to pay for their equipment and uniforms. No, you will never outwork any band member anywhere in the country.

The marching bands take the field for pre-game ceremonies after practicing for hours earlier in the afternoon, including a pre-game pep rally. They return to mid-field at halftime to put on a show that fans have come to take for granted. All game long they play team fight-songs and inspirational music to entertain the fans and players. And when the game ends and most have left, they return for a post-game show that sometimes is sadly watched only by the parents of these unsung heroes and sheroes. They aren't disrespected; they are simply taken for granted.

Almost never mentioned is the chain crew that works the sidelines of every game in the nation. As the ball boy for the Bulldogs, I always go to the "white cap" (the Head Referee) to introduce myself and to get him to approve the game ball. They usually look at me with some pity in their eyes the first time around (as if to say… "Are you sure you can handle this old man?") until they realize that I don't take plays off. Once I've worked with a crew, they never have to counsel with me a second time.

And I never have to introduce the chain crew, because they know that the men who work the St. Cloud Chain Crew have been on the job for years and don't require any instruction. They are as dependable at the sunrise.

Finally, but certainly not least, are the boosters, volunteers, play-by-play announcers, coaches and fans. St. Cloud, like my old home town back in Lexington, SC, travels well. It's not uncommon for Bulldog fans to outnumber the host team fans when we play road games.

One of the legacies of now departed Coach Mike Short was his insistence that his players walk the Bulldog sideline after every victory or defeat to high-five the fans along the bleachers as a show respect and appreciation. It was a classy act by a classy coach, who will be missed.