After 7 Years, Finally, A Football Field Of Their Own
The virgin Astroturf is springy underfoot, and the neon yellow goal posts stretch up into the blue September sky. The Comets should be playing well.
They're not.
After seven years of away-games, the football team at Cody High School in Detroit has their own field. The facility at Cody was in such terrible shape that they couldn't play there.
That changed Friday night. Unfortunately, the Comets homecoming did not start well.
At halftime, the score was 0-0. They were playing against their arch-rivals from Henry Ford High School, which was supposed to be an inferior team.
Coach Calvin Norman dressed down his all-volunteer assistant coaches, telling them not to blame the players. Team captain Jayvonte Ball was disappointed in his teammates, exhorting them to "play like we want it."
"The people who made the field worked harder than us," he says. "They worked way harder than us. Come on, you gotta wake up, man."
A Fundraising Field Goal
Ball is right — it was hard work to raise nearly a million dollars for the field. It almost didn't happen.
Chris Lambert is the CEO of Life Remodeled, the group in charge of an ambitious volunteer makeover of Cody High School and its surrounding neighborhoods. He says a new football field was a priority, but they were still $300,000 short the day fundraising ended.
"Forty-five minutes before I get on stage, a family comes up to me and says, 'Do you still need that $300,000?' "
They got out their checkbook. Lambert says he expected them to want it named Walrich Field after their family, but they had something else in mind.
A Comeback For The Comets
When halftime ended, the Cody Comets charged back out.
Maybe it was the stern speeches by the coach and captain. Maybe it was the appeal by Senior Pastor Bob Shirock, whose Oak Pointe Church in suburban Novi, Mich., has adopted Cody High: "We pray the world would hear that Detroit is rising from the ashes, and that stories like Cody would prove that."
Whatever it is, the Comets came out a different team. They quickly scored. And scored again, and again and again.
Those corny movies about a team picking itself up and coming back to win? This was just like that. The Comets ended up winning the game 24-0.
And just like that, a field named Hope earned its name.
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Transcript
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The football team at Cody High School in Detroit never had a home game for seven years. Their own field was in such miserable shape they had to play on the fields of other teams. Well, that changed last night. Michigan radio's Tracy Samilton reports on the Cody Comets first game on their new field.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTBALL GAME)
CHEERLEADERS: (Cheering) Let's go, Cody.
TRACY SAMILTON, BYLINE: High school football fields don't get much better than this. The virgin AstroTurf is all springy under your feet and the neon yellow goalposts stretch up into the blue September sky. The Comets should be playing well. They're not.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTBALL GAME)
UNIDENTIFIED COACH: (Yelling) Backup, backup, backup. Backup.
SAMILTON: At halftime, the score is zero to zero against archrival Henry Ford. And this year the Comets are supposed to be a much better team. Coach Calvin Norman tells his assistant coaches don't blame the players.
CALVIN NORMAN: We can't coach because that's coaching out there. We look terrible, we look awful.
SAMILTON: Meanwhile, team captain Jayvonte Ball is disappointed in his teammates.
JAYVONTE BALL: We got to play like we want it, the people who made the field working harder than us. They work way harder than us man.
SAMILTON: In fact it was really hard-work, raising nearly a million dollars for this field, and it almost didn't happen. Chris Lambert is CEO of Life Remodeled, the group in charge of an ambitious volunteer makeover of Cody High School and its surrounding neighborhoods. He says a new football field was a priority but they were $300,000 short on the last day of fundraising.
CHRIS LAMBERT: Forty-five minutes before I get on stage, a family comes up to me and says do you still need that 300,000? I said, yeah.
SAMILTON: Lambert figures they'll want the field named after themselves, the Walrich family, Walrich Field.
LAMBERT: They get out a checkbook. They write a $300,000 check and they say we want to call it Hope Field.
SAMILTON: Anyway halftime is ending. Maybe it was the stern speeches, maybe it was this prayer by Reverend Bob Shirock, whose suburban Detroit church has adopted Cody High.
REVEREND BOB SHIROCK: We pray the world would hear that Detroit is rising from the ashes and that stories like Cody would prove that.
SAMILTON: Whatever it is, the Cody Comets after halftime are different team. They quickly score.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTBALL GAME)
CROWD: (Cheering).
SAMILTON: And score again
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTBALL GAME)
CROWD: (Cheering).
SAMILTON: And again.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTBALL GAME)
CROWD: (Cheering).
SAMILTON: Now, we've all seen those corny movies about the team picking itself up and coming back to win. This is just like that. The Comets end up winning the game 24 to zero. And just like that, a field named Hope earns its name. For NPR News, I'm Tracy Samilton. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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