Dusty fields and skies of blue set out for miles around. If you have ever lived there you would understand. There is a certain appeal to West Texas that no one can understand unless you have lived it and tasted the dirt in your teeth. As one travels through west Texas usually in a semi coma from the endless nothingness, except for dirt and green tractors. It is hard to see why some would call this home.
There is nothing here for most, no mountains or tall buildings, no urban city neighborhoods with hipster food joints, just dirt, chicken fried steaks, tamales, and yes dirt. Yes you will find a few watering holes, and people with big hearts, but that is not what people want. They want excitment and adventures to tell their friends and family over sushi rolls and beer at the local hot spot. They want to feel like they are making the most of their lives, soaking in every once of life they can before their time comes. You can't have that when you are sorounded by what some would call the wasteland of West Texas.
if you asked the locals why they stay, you might get the usual responses that you hear everywhere else, the people here have big hearts or they like how everybody knows everybody's names, but that is the same in every rural area. It makes for a nice sound bite or a billboard advertising the local town attractions, but it is not why people call it home.
The people here are not secluded from the world. Most have seen as much of the world as everybody else. They have not given up on something better only to return to their home in the dirt. What people from beyond the dirt will never understand is that this little patch of land holds more beauty and wonder than they will ever find in a city or foreign land. They will never understand why, and for that West Texans are grateful.
Diversity is seen by some as skin color and place of origin, and you will find that here, but it is not the diversity I'm speaking of. Diversity in West Texas is dirt farmers some pore some rich eating enchiladas with doctors, lawyers and a car repair guy at some resteraunt on the corner of some delapedated downtown. It is the teenager from money hanging out in a cotton field with whomever will go rich, poor white, brown or green. There is no divisions in West Texas when it comes to money or race. Nobody in West Texas cares what you are as long as you care enough to say high as you pass by. There is a sence that we are all in this together, so don't bother trying to fit in.
You see, for some adventures come from the weeks vacation in some far away place, or discovering a new dinning option a couple of neighborhoods over, but in West Texas it is their lives. Growing up in West Texas you learn to find adventure in everything, from the local pond to a patch of grass. There is no limit to the imagination of West Texans. They never grow old, they never give up. The people love with everything they have and live in a world unto themselves. A world full of wildlife endless skies, and people who understand what being a community is about. You will find arguments about politics at the local coffee shop, and old men wondering why kids dress and act the way they do, but once the coffee is done so goes the division of thought. There is no real difference in West Texas only work and play and the wonder of it all.
So as it goes with the people so goes their sports. There are no professional sports teams within 300 miles and no cares, for they do not understand what it's like to play in the arenas of West Texas. There is no flashy players or drama to be found, only kids of all walks of life living another adventure in life. There is a purity to sports in West Texas, one that you could once find years ago in every aspect of sports, but one that has since faded into money and 24 hour news cycles.
The people here don't care where you came from or what kind of car you drive, just that you care enough to show the world why it matters and for what. There is no shine and showminship in West Texas just doing it the best you can and living the adventure. Sports is not everything in life here, but it matters and the memories of past adventures pull all around into stadiums to see the next generation live the adventure. The last minute shot and the next great catch that will bring the community together is all they want. It's not sports in West Texas it's another of life's great adventures.
