The Lincoln Parish Journal will be accepting letters to the 2023 Non-Select Division I State Champion Ruston Bearcats. Please email to LPJNewsLA@gmail.com and include your name.
By Kyle Roberts
It got a little dusty in the Caesar’s Superdome radio press box Saturday night.
In my 13 years broadcasting for Ruston High School, I had always wondered what it would be like to call a state championship title win for my alma mater.
But wondering is always different from experiencing, and thanks to you all, whether coaches, players, staff or administration, I now will forever know.
As I called for the ending break as the zeros hit the game clock, I felt the warmth rush down my cheeks; tears of joy and pride for just being adjacent to what you accomplished with the state championship.
And while I did my best to compose myself for the postgame show with my partner Nick Brown, I knew my voice was cracking. In fact, when Nick began to talk about all of the players and teachers that came before 2023, I felt my chest get tighter. It was raw emotion held back by the need to be professional and finish the broadcast.
But I know now I couldn’t have been the only one on Poydras Street feeling this emotion. Countless players, coaches, moms, dads, teachers, you name it: we all feel appreciation for what you just accomplished.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m thankful each and every year. It’s an honor and a privilege to broadcast games for the school from which you graduated. I pinch myself every August as a reminder of what I get to do for those Friday nights in the fall.
Saturday night, I got to watch something that had not happened for over thirty years: a Ruston High team rushing of the field and a celebration that dang well better last for the coming months.
Thank you for once again uniting a community. Thank you for representing the towering columns so well.
Thank you for a firmly founded championship.
Sincerely,
Kyle Roberts, 2000 graduate and radio play-by-play
The Lincoln Parish Journal will be accepting letters to the 2023 Non-Select Division I State Champion Ruston Bearcats. Please email to LPJNewsLA@gmail.com and include your name.
