Interesting story about Arkansas high school football in the 80's

[Snoutmaster]

http://www.gosanangelo.com/sports/high-school/mike-lee-the-story-of-how-an-imaginary-football-team-made-headlines-ep-1344469853-353307131.html

Rock City outfitters put out a new shirt honoring this team and included this link to the article.  I had never heard this story but its pretty entertaining

[DeltaBoy]

Great Story and back then we though it was a Private School.

[LRrazorback]

That's great!!  Nice find.  Have never heard this.

[PossumFan]

Not a harmless practical joke, IMO. I'm on Wally's side on this one.

[azhog10]

Having emailed newspaper people about scores and stats for games and they still get it wrong with it right in their face. I find this funny. It's amazing how hard people can make things, when you are really doing them a favor. Have to admit that was pretty good.

[gmarv]

now that's funny.

[hoggusamoungus]

Fact check.  The two papers didn't merge until 1991, not in 1988 as the article indicates.
I still have a copy of the 10/18/91 Gazette.

Throwing in the towel, Gannett closed the Gazette after publishing a final edition on Oct. 18, 1991. Later that day the Democrat purchased all the assets, including the subscription list of the Gazette, and renamed the combined newspaper the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette the next day.

[flagstaffhog]

Funny story. Appreciate the post.

Go HOGS Go!

[DeltaBoy]

It is to me the best HS practical stunt pulled off by some adults in my lifetime.

[Bacons Rebellion]

The tragic part is that we lot all those Jessieville players when they got scholarships to Plainfield State Teachers College. Johnny Chung had returned as coach to PSTC and he just created a pipeline to Village Academy. It was the same time we were losing Keith Jackson and Danny Bradley to Oklahoma, so it didn't draw the same attention, but losing Norman hurt almost as much.

[hogsanity]

Not a harmless practical joke, IMO. I'm on Wally's side on this one.

and why would you say that?

[Boog41]

I have a buddy that still has a few clippings that talk about touchdowns he scored for VA.

[RazorbacksFan]

Bob Sivils was my band director at Helen Tyson Middle School in Springdale in the 90s. He was a unique character: usually tied rope for a belt and drove an old Buick or similar sedan completely covered in bumper stickers. The car was called "the rat."

[Cinco de Hogo]

It is to me the best HS practical stunt pulled off by some adults in my lifetime.

Much better than a Ponzi scheme!

[BPsTheMan]

Willie Snodgrass is not amused

[BoynamedWooPigSooie]

George Foshee sounded like he was a complete tool

[PossumFan]

and why would you say that?

I just don't think deliberately damaging a newspaper's credibility is amusing. Would it be funny if the police fed the newspaper bogus stories about crimes they solved? You might argue that it's just a silly little high school sports story, but it's all news and the same principles apply. As a reader, I want to be as reasonably assured as possible that what I'm reading is true. Fabricating news is not cool, whether it's done by a dishonest reporter trying to get ahead or a non-employee contributor who thinks it's funny.

[HogShat]

George Foshee sounded like he was a complete tool

+1  ^2

[clutch]

I just don't think deliberately damaging a newspaper's credibility is amusing. Would it be funny if the police fed the newspaper bogus stories about crimes they solved? You might argue that it's just a silly little high school sports story, but it's all news and the same principles apply. As a reader, I want to be as reasonably assured as possible that what I'm reading is true. Fabricating news is not cool, whether it's done by a dishonest reporter trying to get ahead or a non-employee contributor who thinks it's funny.

You take your newspaper reading seriously I see.

What these guys did was expose people for not doing their job very well. If you are in charge of a sports section of a newspaper and you can be tricked into putting in scores for a non-existent school for 3 years then you deserve it.

[ridgehog88]

You take your newspaper reading seriously I see.

What these guys did was expose people for not doing their job very well. If you are in charge of a sports section of a newspaper and you can be tricked into putting in scores for a non-existent school for 3 years then you deserve it.

amen to that

[DeltaBoy]

You take your newspaper reading seriously I see.

What these guys did was expose people for not doing their job very well. If you are in charge of a sports section of a newspaper and you can be tricked into putting in scores for a non-existent school for 3 years then you deserve it.

Amen give them LR boys a rag to wipe the egg off their face.

[Dr. Starcs]

First I had heard of this was reading this past years Hooten's magazine.

I was in tears laughing so hard. Journalism at its absolute finest.

[BearsBisonsBoars]

I just don't think deliberately damaging a newspaper's credibility is amusing. Would it be funny if the police fed the newspaper bogus stories about crimes they solved? You might argue that it's just a silly little high school sports story, but it's all news and the same principles apply. As a reader, I want to be as reasonably assured as possible that what I'm reading is true. Fabricating news is not cool, whether it's done by a dishonest reporter trying to get ahead or a non-employee contributor who thinks it's funny.

Not our job to protect their credibility. That's their job.

If they never bothered to fact check in all of those years, then that's on them.

[GolfnHog]

I just don't think deliberately damaging a newspaper's credibility is amusing. Would it be funny if the police fed the newspaper bogus stories about crimes they solved? You might argue that it's just a silly little high school sports story, but it's all news and the same principles apply. As a reader, I want to be as reasonably assured as possible that what I'm reading is true. Fabricating news is not cool, whether it's done by a dishonest reporter trying to get ahead or a non-employee contributor who thinks it's funny.

If you believe what the mainstream media feeds you today is factual and not slanted towards their own agenda then you deserve everything you get.

Those 2 folks just proved that those taking the sports reports were inept and Wally and Foshee got what they deserved for being as stupid as their subordinates.

[IronMountainHog]

Sounds like a couple of losers with nothing better to do. The hoax/joke isn't even funny, in fact it is just lame.

[Inhogswetrust]

You take your newspaper reading seriously I see.

What these guys did was expose people for not doing their job very well. If you are in charge of a sports section of a newspaper and you can be tricked into putting in scores for a non-existent school for 3 years then you deserve it.

Bingo. Isn't it the newspapers responsibility to make sure their news is accurate as possible. Making sure a school or team exists couldn't be that hard.

Maybe he also wants to make sure when the local newspaper wrote Aunt Jenny from Emporia, Kansas visited with her Niece Rebecca in Crossett Saturday night and they went to the KFC for Chicken that they really did go to KFC and not just drinking at the local VFW.

[GolfnHog]

aybe he also wants to make sure when the local newspaper wrote Aunt Jenny from Emporia, Kansas visited with her Niece Rebecca in Crossett Saturday night and they went to the KFC for Chicken that they really did go to KFC and not just drinking at the local VFW.

I see we grew up with the same type small town newspaper!

" Petey Bob and his college friends came home for the weekend and were run off the Piggly Wiggly parking lot by the local policeman. All those fine youngsters were in church on Sunday morning listening to the sermon by Brother Joe."

[PossumFan]

Not our job to protect their credibility. That's their job.

If they never bothered to fact check in all of those years, then that's on them.

No, it's "not our job to protect their credibility" ... but it's also "not our job" to proactively attempt to undermine it through misrepresentation and lies.     

[Pulled(PP)pork]

I bet Robert Shields was behind this, he post fake stories all the time on Hogville.


PP

[Pulled(PP)pork]

I'm sorry, that is hilarious and elaborate......well done to those two fellas


PP

[Boog41]

Sometimes you just need to laugh and say "you got me good". This was a great practical joke.

[Cinco de Hogo]

Sometimes you just need to laugh and say "you got me good". This was a great practical joke.

A laugh at the expense of the media is good for me.  They take themselves way too serious and their job, not serious enough.  Truth is only important if they are asking a question.  What they put on paper doesn't matter.  I've never understood why they think they are so important that anyone HAS to tell them the truth.  You would think their subject was sworn in under oath.  That's why someone getting under their skin is funny.

Oh yea, remember "never believe anything you read and half what you see".

[uams1989]

Gary Crowder was the girls coach at Jessieville when I was in high school there and he's had a very successful career at OBU.

[rzrbk4life]

That's a pretty good read. +1

[LZH]

I just don't think deliberately damaging a newspaper's credibility is amusing. Would it be funny if the police fed the newspaper bogus stories about crimes they solved? You might argue that it's just a silly little high school sports story, but it's all news and the same principles apply. As a reader, I want to be as reasonably assured as possible that what I'm reading is true. Fabricating news is not cool, whether it's done by a dishonest reporter trying to get ahead or a non-employee contributor who thinks it's funny.

It isn't anyone else's fault if they are going to sit on their nuts and let someone do the reporting for them.

[DeltaBoy]

It isn't anyone else's fault if they are going to sit on their nuts and let someone do the reporting for them.

Possumfan got on sense of HUMOR!!!!