Southlake Players Drink Goat Blood ...

Just a daily "Game of the Century" filller ...

FWST: Carroll fanning inferno of hate with its success

Everyone, it seems, hates the Carroll Dragons.

It is a shared feeling found among area fans. They post comments on Internet message boards, boo passionately at games and often cross the line with slurs or offensive remarks. Even at church, they might offer up a harsh stare at the sight of a state title ring.

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Some of the hate stems from success: Carroll has won three Class 5A Division II state titles since joining 5A in 2002, along with two mythical national championships in 2004 and 2005. The Dragons, 74-1 in that span, have played on TV seven times and have landed 13 players on The Associated Press all-state team, including the past four Offensive Players of the Year.

There are other reasons. There's money (the median household income in Southlake is $131, 549), charging for parking (Grapevine fans wanted to pay in pennies this season), media coverage (each game is broadcast on the radio) and a clothing deal with Under Armour (a commercial featuring Green Bay Packers rookie linebacker A.J. Hawk was filmed at Dragon Stadium).

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The easiest way to see the hate is to look on Internet message boards:

"Is it true that Southlake players drink goats blood and sacrifice chickens before their games?"

"Southlake Carroll will fall short this year... just u wait n see."

"Is it genius, or pure arrogance that SLC had their starting QB running and throwing till the final whistle, when the game was a locked victory shortly after half? Classless is all I can say!"

Players and coaches say they hear plenty from the opposing student sections. Most laugh, or block it out. Sometimes there's no need to give a pregame pep talk, Dodge said.

"It's cool. We feed off that," co-captain and senior linebacker Justin Padron said. "We don't say anything back to them. We just kind of let it fester. Once that game rolls, it's all built up."

Of course, my own hatred of them is due to their unwillingness to play Trinity, a team 10 miles away, in the regular season. Of course, a post-playoff charity game last year would have been a nice idea, too.

Anyways, the game's on radio up in DFW .. Southlake's radio sponsor, naturally:

CARROLL VS. TRINITY
Class 5A Division I area round
1 p.m. Friday, Texas Stadium
Radio: KKGM/1630 AM

I'm sticking around town and will be listening intently online.