Concession Stand Review and More - Sparkman

This week’s concession stand review is for Sparkman High School. This past Friday was the first time I have covered a football game at Sparkman. Although I had been to a game at Sparkman as a spectator, I had never worked a football game there, only basketball, so I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as the press box area was concerned.

I had remembered from basketball season that Sparkman was a Pepsi school and so I prepared in advance and took a Diet Coke with me because as you may know, I have a strong dislike of Pepsi products – I personally think they taste like Windex; not that I’ve ever drank Windex.

I was pretty hungry when I left for the game and so I was anxious to get there and get some “dinner.” I had remembered from the time I was there before that they had hamburgers there and so I was planning to get one of those, hoping it would be better than my experience at Hazel Green. When I arrived at the concession stand, hamburgers were not on the menu and so I ordered a hot dog; but when I saw the guy open up the container to withdraw a hotdog I noticed hamburgers inside, asked him about it and got one of those instead. For $4.25 I got a cheeseburger ($2.50), popcorn ($1), strawberry sour punch straws (75 cents) and a cup of ice (free) for my Diet Coke. Like I said, I was hungry.

The cheeseburger was really good and the popcorn wasn’t bad either. I also enjoyed the sour punch straws and in fact went back at halftime to get some blue ones and a bottle of water ($2). The half time trip took me four minutes and 47 seconds, which allowed me enough time to get back and do some typing and even enjoy part of the Sparkman band, which was phenomenal I might add.

Speaking of bands, the Florence band had an 18-wheeler just for their equipment. It was painted with their logo and I assume it carried the instruments and maybe some props for the half time show. I’m not really sure, but the 18-wheeler itself was rather impressive. The band directors looked like the secret service complete with headsets and dark suits. It was all very interesting. It was also quite clear by the performance of the two football teams that these two schools have a lot more talent in the music arena than the athletic arena – at least as far as football is concerned. The Sparkman band got a standing ovation at half time whereas the football team actually received some boos.

As far as the press box was concerned, it was newer and quite nice. There were different rooms for different people and I did not hear one coach yell which was a welcome relief indeed. I was stuck in a booth with a guy named Jim, a reporter from a local publication, who smelled like he had dirty hair. I only speak the truth here, people. He was a nice enough person, I guess. We didn’t really talk much. I was able to sit down the whole game and watch, which was a so wonderful! My foot was very thankful! The strangest thing about the press box was that it shook, wobbled actually, anytime a large person walked in it. It made me feel kind of uneasy and I just hoped it wasn’t going to collapse while I was there.

Back to the concession stand, the highest price item on the Sparkman menu was a Chick-Fil-A sandwich for $3.50. They also had BBQ sandwiches for $3.00. The hot dogs were $2, which I thought was a little pricey because they are no more than $1.50 at other schools. The unique item this week was a Frushee ($3), which came in two flavors, cherry and something else. I didn’t actually see anyone get these (maybe because the weather was chilly), but I assume they are like slushies.

Despite having Pepsi products, the cups are very nice 20oz Styrofoam cups. I realize that these are not good for the environment or whatever, but they keep drinks cooler a lot longer and I really prefer them over the paper cups, which don’t keep drinks all that cold and often smell weird. Does anyone else feel this way about the paper cup?

Overall, I had a great experience at Sparkman, press box, concession stand and all.

Final grade: A+