What Were They Thinking

It is time for another installment of what were they thinking and this one is a dozy, but since it involves local government it should come as no surprise. This Darwin award proves once again government does the work of two men...........Laurel and Hardy.

The New York City Board of Education circa 1972 is the group of esteemed lame brains to which I refer. It was during that year they funded and opened a new highs school named Herbert H. Lehman High School. In doing so the established a high school whose football team really are road warriors. In the 38 years this school has been in existence, they have yet to play host to a team on their own field.

It is hard to imagine a school has never once played a home game, and had to travel to every game since their inception, but for the football team at Lehman High that is the case.

When the New York City Board of education funded this new high school the apparently knew nothing about football or did not care. What these 1972 geniuses did was give the good people at Lehman High an 80 yard football field versus the regulation size 100 yard long football field. Did they think know one would notice the 20 yard shortage? How bizarre is that. So from the opening day to this Lehman High is the epitome of the footballs road warriors.

One has to wonder how this all happened and the answer goes back to 1972 when the school was built, the city sold off all the land surrounding Lehman High and leaving it just 20 yards short of being a complete football field. Talk about your 4th and long, those kids are still in it.

Making matters worse is the Department of Education's School Construction Authority has $2.8 million set aside for a new field at Lehman High, yet no expansion of the field is planned.

What will they do with this pool of money? Well they plan to add a new scoreboard, new lighting fixtures and of course new turf, but only 80 yards of new turf. Doesn`t that restore your faith in government?

Until further notice Lehman High football team will continue its ways as road warriors and will never have experienced the home field advantage of playing on your own field. Instead they will have new lights and a scoreboard, new turf and continue setting the record for going being the team with the perfect no loss record at home while remaining a homeless team.

To the past members of the NYC Board of education, what were you thinking, to the current board, what are you going to do to make this problem go away so the kids of Herbert H. Lehman High School can do what every other high school in the country does.......host a home game.