I have a news flash for you.  To all of you true football fans, and I know that your legion is many, this really won’t be such big news. To you fly-by-night sports fans, you may be surprised by what I am about to say. But here goes.

High school football in the state of Alabama is bigger than the Alabama and Auburn game.

No it really is. More people across the state will attend high school football on any given Friday night, than will collectively attend the Iron Bowl on that last Saturday, er, now the last Friday in November.

More money will be spent on hot dogs, hamburgers, and Cokes on any given Friday night in the fall than will be spent at Bryant-Denny or Jordan-Hare during an Alabama vs. Auburn football game.  More miles will be traveled, more families involved, and I think it is even safe to say, more money is spent each and every fall Friday night, then is spent on that one important Saturday.

Now please don’t misunderstand. I love Iron Bowl Day.  It is sacred in this pigskin-crazed state. It is talked about year round. Some people I know name their kids (or are planning to name their kids) after a player or a coach or the school itself.

But apparently the powers-that-be in the SEC and at CBS-TV do not realize how important our hometown high school football is to us.

Maybe they DO realize it but maybe they just don’t care.

Over the next two seasons and for the first time in more than 10 years, the Iron Bowl will be played on Friday rather than Saturday.  It will be televised nationally, which is great news for those Tide and Tiger fans who no longer reside in the south.  It will give the nation’s greatest rivalry even more exposure.

But while the money to be made by the schools and the conference will be insane, and the exposure unparalleled, our high school teams are truly the ones that will take a hit.

That particular week is a crucial time during high school football playoffs.  Normally sports talk radio and even newspapers who would ordinarily focus on the up and coming stars of our high school teams will abandon these kids to talk about Alabama and Auburn.

Working moms and dads who would normally take in the Friday night high school game, then load up trek to Tuscaloosa or Auburn on Saturday will now be required to have to make a choice.

This is a sad situation. Not for the Iron Bowl because it would flourish if you played it on a Tuesday at midnight, but because this setup will truly affect our high school football emphasis.

The contract is between the SEC and CBS so the schools really don’t have much say so in what happens, and if this were another state, it probably would not be such a big deal.

But this is Alabama. High school football is not just an extracurricular activity.  It is a way of life.

And before all you soccer moms say to yourself “what’s the big deal,” keep in mind that the Friday afternoon we are talking about is the day after Thanksgiving. The biggest shopping day of the year. Don’t think for a second that retail sales in this state won’t take a hit, because I guarantee you that they will.

This is just a bad deal.  It is bad for working families. Bad for the Alabama economy. But most of all, horrific for our high school athletes, who will take the worst hit of all.

If you have to choose, go watch the local high school playoffs, support your team with your presence, then watch the Iron Bowl on TV.  Hey, that is what CBS wants you to do anyway.

-Hit ‘em straight.

Dale Jones is a correspondent for GCN. Comments on “Sports in Paradise” can be sent to sports@gulfcoastnewspapers.com