A couple of years ago before the Dallas Cowboys had their indoor practice facility (in need of another one now) they would actually use a local high school indoor facility for indoor practices.

Gaberone.

Prounced 'Haberone' by locals.

What I stated was what I was told by one of our locals here in Nebraska who was seriously being recruited to move to Texas to become an official. Of course, he has some family down there so he was considering it.

Lets get the argument going. I say OHIO has the best.

Ohio is the source of the best college coaches in the country: Stoops, Miles, U. Meyer.....and in days past: Hayes, Schembechlar, Parseghian...

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.

Don't forget the up and coming Bo Pelini...also, Frank Solich of Ohio is an Ohio native. ;)

Carl Childress mentioned baseball umpires get a share of the gate in playoff games.

Actually I believe that per the UIL, umpires get a share of the gate for all varsity contests. I would imagine this is quite a bit lower than a football game. :eek:

Oklahoma high school football is very good as well. Not as many good teams as Texas because of the sheer size difference, but Oklahoma's good teams are REAL good.

Oklahoma has been pretty good for churning out big a** linemen...I should know because my beloved Huskers stole a few from the Sooners and the Cowboys. :cool:

My top five:

Texas
Ohio
Georgia
Pennsylvania (Western)
Florida

"What state take HS football most seriously?"

I guess we have to start by deciding what empirical factors we would use to base our assessment on.
The amount of money spent on HS football by the citizens?
The amount of money paid to officials to officiate football?
The percentage of kids who participate in football?
The salaries paid to those who coach football?
The percentage of the population which attends HS football games?
The degree of conventional and unconventional media coverage of HS football?

Any others?

The most qualified folks to answer this question would be those who have lived in many different states. I can compare Texas to Virginia, Maine, Florida, Oklahoma, Indiana, Kansas, and Washington. Would like to hear some comparisons between Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California.

(I continue to find it interesting that you can see playoff games from the lowest levels of HS football in many states on satellite TV but we still see only a limited number of Texas playoff games, and those are the highest levels)

Texas HS Football stadiums article: High school football in Texas is king. Just look at their stadiums: - Democratic Underground

Story from 2006 re coach salaries: In dollars, coaches beat teachers

Pay/Performance Study of Texas HS Football Coaches Pay and Performance: An Examination of Texas High School Football Coaches | The Sport Journal

Article comparing Georgia HS football to Texas and other states:
THE ISSUE: RATING GEORGIA'S FOOTBALL TALENT: IT'S A SOUTHERN THING | ajc.com

Which state has the best HS football is another issue entirely. We are talking about which state takes HS football most seriously. I did some research a few years ago and found that the number of D-1 players coming out of HS's, on a per capita basis, was greatest in Louisianna. Texas, Ohio, Califonia and Florida were not far behind but Oklahoma was not in the mix.