Jumbotron worth excitement

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Russellville, the number one ranked team in the state, had its biggest game of the year so far on Friday night.
The seventh ranked Hartselle Tigers came into town for what was probably the biggest game in the state this week.
These two teams always battle it out and although Russellville has dominated the series, Hartselle has always been so close to getting over the hump and knocking off Russellville.
But with these two region rivals set to go at it this week, the game seemed to it on the backburner.
The buzz around Russellville this week has been all about the new jumbotron that made its debut.
It is the first of its kind to be used by a high school in Alabama. As a matter of fact, its not even used by some smaller colleges.
But it is an incredible addition to one of, if not the best, high school stadiums in the state.
Shortly after the new track was added at the stadium and the field house was built in the end zone, people around town started joking that Russellville would need to add a jumbotron soon. It seemed like a joke.
But, now it's reality.
There is also much talk about the costs of the board and how the money could have been used on something else. That's not the case.
The board is being bought and paid for by donors and sponsorships.
It is know different than someone buying something for themselves and working extra hard to pay for it.
Supporters of the Russellville program have worked extremely hard to provide a first-class operation for its students and residents.
There is no reason why Russellville, or any other Franklin County school, should not have the best that is available to them.
If it does not cost taxpayer dollars to make it possible, then the students at our schools should be rewarded.
And there should be no apologies made to anyone in other parts of the state for that.
So now that the jumbotron is a reality and there for us all to see, it's time to get working on putting in artificial grass or building an indoor practice facility.