There was a high school football captain. He didn't have much charisma, really. He never talked about victory, or dominance on the field...What he did do, though, was call good plays. He saw the potential in the other players and made good use of them; others he had stay on the sidelines if they didn't really perform. The school newspaper delighted in pointing out the people he didsn't play, and his lack of charisma---the paper painted it as stupidity. No mention was made of the football program being the strongest in the school's history, now being the one to beat. He didn't really mind. He was a true leader and only cared about the well being of his team, and his school's pride. His own image mattered little to him.
Eventually he graduated and moved on. The same year, a freshman came in. He was a nice guy, one of very few dark skinned people ever to enroll in this particular school. He was very interested in football. He had never really spent any time on the field, but was on a team for awhile---he chose not to play then, so he wouldn't go into high school having made any mistakes.
The school newspaper did a huge article on him, how he was the new hope for the football program. His picture was on the cover, and they fawned over every quote. He spoke of victory. He spoke of dominance on the field. He said things could be different....A portion of the student body was convinced the past team captain was an utter failure, disregarding the record, and they insisted this young kid, even though he was junior-junior varsity, should be the new team captain immediately and make their football program see a new era. He WAS dark skinned, after all, and that was enough. No prior record needed. He gladly accepted the role of football team captain as a freshman; half the school swooned.
The other half waited for season to start.
