Part of the Tradition

Basketball in Butler and Taylor County has such a long tradition. I remember attending basketball games with my family as a little girl. I loved to watch my cousins play. I could not wait to be a part of the team.

As a freshman, I tried out for the team. I wanted to carry on the "Peed" tradition of playing basketball for Coach Carter. I was not a great athlete, but I tried hard. The day that the team was announced, I did not make it. I remember going home that night and being devastated. Not only was I upset that I did not make the team, but I felt that I had let the entire family down. And to make matters worse, two of my best friends, Harriet Jones and Susan Whidden had made the team.

Well, as we all do, I lived through it. At the end of my freshman year, I decided to try out for the cheering squad. I am sure that I was not that great of a cheerleader, but I did have a "big mouth"; and somehow, I made the team.

Spending a week at Mercer University Cheerleading Camp was the most exhausting week that I have ever spent, but it was also fun.

Looking back now, we did not realize that we were part of something historical. I remember the game we lost and how upset we all were. I remember spending the weekend in Bremen and getting to stay in hotel rooms. Shag haircuts were just getting popular and some of the girls decided to cut their hair in the hotel room. I knew if I let someone cut my hair, my mother would have killed me.

I guess the best memory is getting to cheer in the Macon Coliseum during the State Finals. It was so big compared to our gym, but it was so much fun.

I am thankful for the opportunity to have been involved in just a small way.