It's getting to be an annual event — like the swallows returning to Capistrano.  For each of the past three seasons, the Ellenville Blue Devils football team has started the season off winning several games, only to perform in front of smaller-than-average crowds.  The Blue Devils play the football version of Rodney Dangerfield and "get no respect."  The local football pundits at the Times Herald Record don't notice. Opposing teams seem unimpressed. Opposing fans are slow to give credit.  And most shocking of all is that Blue Devils faithful themselves seem, well, indifferent.  How else do you explain that the Blue Devils, the undefeated and state-ranked number 12 Blue Devils, played their game last week at Liberty (a mere 25-minute ride from Ellenville) in front of approximately 75 Ellenville fans?

Oh, sure, the Blue Devils have had to cancel their season twice in the last ten years due to inadequate numbers of players to field a team.  And yes, there have been times when the Ellenville sidelines had so few players that a couple of injuries would have caused some serious problems. And we all remember that the Blue Devils lost far more games than they won.  Heck, even the time or two that the Ellenville football team actually made it to the playoffs at Dietz Stadium, they lost.

But all that is old news.  This is not your father's Chevrolet.  And these are not those Blue Devils of recent past failures. Consider these facts about Ellenville football over the last three seasons: the Blue Devils have won a Class B Championship, a Section 9 Championship, and are currently in the midst of an undefeated season.  Want more?  Ellenville has not lost a home football game in the last three seasons.  And still, we yawn.  Why is it that we must wait until our beloved Blue Devils are in the sectional playoffs before we gas up our cars, pack the family into the van, and make the trip up Route 209 to Kingston?  Can't we just once show these young men that they have our support and fill the stands to capacity? Can we put two or three people deep around the fence and produce the largest and loudest Ellenville home football crowd since the glory days of the late, great Walter Moseley? The days when trucks and vehicles would line the berme surrounding the track and everyone would honk their horns whenever the Blue Devils scored a touchdown.

Let's give this group of players something to talk about when they return for their 25th high school reunion. Some of us will be gone, but these players will talk about that great season in 2009 and the home game against Millbrook that produced the biggest and most vocal crowd anyone can ever remember at an Ellenville sporting event. And of course, another Ellenville win. Let's not wait. The Saturday Homecoming game is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. Clear the calendar. Put on your blue and gold. Be there and be loud…

The Liberty Indians must feel the Blue Devils' pain. The home standing Indians appeared to have half the fans Ellenville did. Liberty has always had problems getting support for their football program………..It was disappointing to witness the lack of support for the Blue Devils at Liberty. With the exception of Ellenville Board of Education members Chan Rivera and Wayne Storey, there was not another board- or administration-member present. The ever-present Rivera is at many extra-curricular events. And rookie board-member Storey is a former Blue Devils football player. But where was everyone else? The Blue Devils were off to a perfect 4-0 start, playing close to home against a local rival, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The truth of the matter is that for all their lip service, the board of education and the central administration are not as supportive as they should be of Ellenville athletics and extra-curricular activities…........Elsewhere; the boys' golf team is having another solid season as Coach Bill O'Donnell has the Blue Devils at 6-3-1 overall. Not bad considering the team is still very young……….The Ellenville boys' soccer team was 7-1 and ranked 10th in the state before dropping two games last week. The team had not found itself in that position in recent years and perhaps the boys were getting a little full of themselves. No doubt Coach Maxwell Mead will use the turn of events as a learning tool and the team will realize they got to this point through hard work and discipline. No matter how you look at it, a number 10 state ranking, however short-lived, is still a great accomplishment………..Sources tell me that former Lady Blue Devils basketball coach Mike Guiney will be returning to the sidelines for the upcoming season. Guiney, who led the Blue Devils to a Section 9 title in 2000, knows basketball and understands that the current team is built to run the fast break and play pressure defense. The biggest problem facing Guiney may be instilling discipline in a group that tends to be self-centered at times……….GO Blue Devils! Until next time……….