Football season is just around the corner. It’s the time of year when hope knows no bounds. But sometimes hope gets teams carried away. For sure, I got my season tickets this week to for University of Oklahoma Football. I figured I should check out what was OU football. First thing I saw in the paper was OU’s defensive coach saying he liked the direction his defense was going. Up. But when you think about it, our defense is ranked 129^th which is as low as you can go. He didn’t say what we were striving for but I hope it isn’t 128^th .

Last year we depended on our offense to score like crazy as our defense, well, struggled. But we got by and now I hope Lincoln Riley isn’t counting on the same scenario this year. Too hard on a Sooner’s nerves. Then there are the Cowboys. Always optimistic this time of year some of their fans here in Allen are hopeful of a Big-12 title. Or at least a victory over OU in the fall. Dream on Cowpokes. Dream on. While Lincoln Riley wonders (out loud yet) about who OU’s quarterback might be while the country’s greatest, Jalen Hurt stands smiling in the background, we wonder who he’s kidding anyway. Hurt is projected by the sports media to be an 8-1 favorite for the Heisman. Doesn’t sound real, does it. Well, I’m sure the University of Oklahoma can find space for another Heisman Monument. Uh huh.

I went by the Allen football field this morning. Lots of mowing and trimming going on. High school football is at hand. Stay tuned to this newspaper for all the news on our Allen Mustangs upcoming games. It looks to be a great new season.

Meanwhile, across the campus sits the new gym. I went in it the other day and just stood there in awe. From the entry lobby to the large inside lobby, I was just impressed at how much room there was. The seats are all fold-down padded chairs with plenty of room. The gym playing surface is traditional wood and is beautiful. Our kids are going to be very proud of this fi ne facility which will serve our community for many years in the future. I’m sure we will see many championships won in this great hall and I am eager for basketball season. Thanks to our school board and other leaders for seeing this ambitious project through to the fi nish.

Two other new school projects that I know of are the grade school addition and the new Junior High building. The grade school building contains a number of new classrooms and connects with the older facility by a large breezeway. I know the grade school kids have been crowded as enrollment has continued to grow. Same way with the middle school kids. Classroom space has been at a premium in most of our aging school rooms and this will go far in giving us some relief.

Allen schools are growing and it’s good to see the district supporting our school with modern buildings and the tools teachers need as our school advances into the 2020’s.

Across Broadway, the new FBC Family Life Center Building is nearly complete. It is a great and beautiful addition to our campus area too. The building will serve as a multi-purpose facility for the First Baptist Church, our schools and our community. These are times of change for our community. And it’s good.

Hope you have a good weekend and are able to go to Church this Sunday.

Wayne Bullard, DPh

waynebullard@sbcglobal.net