Timothy Cox – 4/21/16

This page was last updated on May 1, 2016.

‘Friday Night Tykes’ is win-win for our area; Timothy Cox; Beaver County Times; April 21, 2016. I am not related to Mr. Cox.

According to the BCT obituary for Lonzie Cox, Sr., Lonzie Cox, Jr., and Timothy Cox are brothers.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“After getting a chance to view ‘Steel Country: Friday Night Tykes’ on the Esquire Network over the past few weeks, I’ve come to the conclusion that the show is a win-win for all Beaver County residents, former and current.”

[RWC] The correct name of the show is “Friday Night Tykes: Steel Country.”

Whether or not you have children, you need to watch “Steel Country.” The “reality show” is about a handful of football teams in the Beaver County Youth Football League (BCYFL) “Mitey Mites” division (10 – 11 years old). The other divisions are the “Midgets” (12 – 13 yo), “Termites” (8 – 9 yo), and “Twerps” (5 – 7 yo).

As you will read below, Mr. Cox (TC, no relation to me) presents a sanitized review of what “Steel Country” shows.

More detailed observations can be found on my personal Facebook page here and here.

“As a Beaver Falls native, the show provides a vivid flashback to my days in youth sports, both as a player and coach. The weekly show reveals the competitive ambiance of western Pennsylvania football country, and how it all starts at the Pop Warner level. The longtime rivalries among Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, Ambridge and, frankly, all the rest of small Beaver County towns, shows a realistic side of life in the county. Fortunately, the producers chose our county, instead of other regions where kid sports are equally vital. Eastern Ohio immediately comes to mind -- Steubenville, Alliance, Youngstown, Canton, Warren or Massillon.”

[RWC] “As a Beaver Falls native,” did TC know “They call it Beaver Falls because it’s connected with the Beaver River that flows between Beaver Falls and Aliquippa, Ambridge?” That’s what the Beaver Falls head coach said in episode four.

When I was in Boy Scouts, it was up to each troop to raise the money needed to purchase its equipment (axes, tents, cook kits, etc.). Every year we went door to door in our neighborhoods to take orders for Anderson’s Candy for Christmas and or Easter. In addition, our parents took orders at work. When our troop’s order was ready, our troop leaders drove a group of us to the Ambridge shop to load the candy into pick-ups and station wagons. Back at our meeting room (a janitors’ room in the basement of the old Center Grange Elementary School), we unloaded and matched up the candy with the orders. The final step was to deliver the candy door-to-door and receive payment. One of the lessons we learned was if we needed or wanted something, we needed to earn it.

In contrast, the Beaver Falls organization gave their kids milk jugs and sent them out to beg. Does anyone care to guess the life-lesson those children learned?

I don’t know if it’s a big deal, but neither BCYFL nor its teams appear to be affiliated with the Pop Warner program as TC appears to claim. Neither BCYFL nor its teams appear on the Pop Warner “League Finder” web page. Further, the division names and ages differ.

“While some critics complain that they’re showing the worst (blighted) parts of our towns, it should also be pointed out that the Beaver River and Ohio River bridge footage is actually scenic, and was purposely videotaped on beautiful sun-lit days and could serve as an effective marketing template for economic developers or prospective new residents to the ‘valley.’”

[RWC] When some teams are the focus, just about all you see are rundown houses and businesses. In contrast, the fly-in shot for the first view of the Central Valley (CV) field on the grounds of the Todd Lane elementary school makes it look like there’s nothing but woods surrounding the property. That’s true for subsequent shots through at least the first seven episodes. Why? It’s only my opinion, but it’s because a wider shot would NOT have shown a school/practice field surrounded by “the worst (blighted) parts of our towns.” The only other CV shots I recall seeing were tight shots of the head coach’s home (probably in Center Township) and Bowser’s - I think - in Center Square. After seven episodes, you would never know there were flourishing business districts in Beaver, Center Twp., and Chippewa Twp.

Though the details differ, the Blackhawk team got the same treatment as CV.

“Steel Country” shows plenty of abandoned/closed plants, which is fine. The prep work being done by Shell for its cracking plant is truly astonishing, yet I recall no mention of it.

The producers of the show don’t seem to know CV is a school district, not a municipality. In fairness, some locals have the same problem.

“For many old-timers like me, who left the county behind in the economic downturn of the 1980s, we welcome and appreciate the chance to see our county in a positive light -- on a nationally syndicated TV network. And the aerial shots of our communities, houses and neighborhoods are equally impressive.”

[RWC] Did TC watch only the scenery shots in “Steel Country?”

“Better us than Mahoning County, Ohio!”