If you know anything about the dynamic of youth/HS football, you know that the "city game" is a lot different than the "suburban game" and the following story from Boston is confirmation of that.

It's hard to simply call the white suburban teams racists, because I believe the issue is more complex. If a black inner city team shows up and plays hard smashmouth football, you can't begrudge that. But if they show up blaring cop-killa rap and trying to menace the other team before they even snap a down... well, then it's different.

If you saw the movie Friday Night Lights, you'll know exactly what they are talking about....

YOUTH FOOTBALL LEAGUE DISSOLVES
Author: By Donovan Slack, Boston Globe

A troubled youth football conference dissolved last night after a last-ditch effort by Pop Warner officials failed to stem a division between several mostly white suburban teams and several mostly black urban teams from Boston, a rift some say was fueled by racial prejudice.

At an emotionally charged emergency meeting in Norwood, Pop Warner officials offered to move the urban teams out of the Bay State Conference if the suburban teams agreed to stay, but none of the suburban teams accepted the deal. Some city team officials found the proposal offensive, saying it would have created a predominantly white conference while kicking out the city teams.

"We should be able to play anywhere," said one Dorchester Eagles official, who walked out of the meeting in a huff and declined to be identified by name. "They totally disrespected us in there." The six suburban teams, including those from Needham-Wellesley, Natick, and Walpole, now are planning to join another league, American Youth Football, where they will only play each other, while the Boston teams must transfer to another Pop Warner conference.

"I think we tried to be as fair as we could," Al Perillo, Pop Warner regional director, said after the meeting. "I'm not happy about it."

Conflict in the Bay State Conference erupted last month, when five suburban teams told league officials they planned to drop out because they wanted to play more suburban teams.

In interviews with the Globe, some team officials cited "intimidating" rap music played at some city games, city teams' brand of hard-hitting football, and the safety of some city playing fields. In a letter obtained by the Globe, Needham-Wellesley officials also complained about racially offensive comments made by Boston coaches, including one who reportedly egged on his team by saying "Let's go get some white [expletive]!"