They all know each other by name and their stories intertwine into one another, checking facts and recalling names of players.

This isn’t a Football 101 class, they are just eight dedicated fans who know and love their Belton football.

They all plan to be in the stands tonight as Belton High School plays its first home game of the season.

Two of them are former Tiger coaches while the rest were once a part of the team.

“I sat on the end of the bench and guarded the water bucket and tackled whoever came near it,” Joe Smith, a 1958 graduate, said with a chuckle.

Joe Pirtle, former coach and superintendent, rattles off the years Belton was district champions.

The story of a game against Killeen in 1968 during which a woman hit the referee with her purse after he called a touchdown is told by Hugh Sullivan, former coach and athletic director.

Mack Parker still has his jersey from 1968. A red scrapbook from his high school sweetheart, now wife, contains clippings from his last year in football.

To Parker, being a Tiger means “teamwork, hard work, discipline and working harder than the opponent.”

Tiger football is a family business for Joe Smith and Pirtle, who both have grandsons playing on the varsity tonight.

“When my grandson was in pre-school the teacher asked what they wanted to be when they grew up - Cole said, ‘I want to be a Belton Tiger,’” Pirtle said.

Duryl “Gibby” Bailey, a 1952 graduate, had his parents buy season tickets his freshman year of high school. They kept those same seats for the next 30 years.

Belton season tickets “were put in wills and divorce settlements,” Sullivan said.

“When things go well, you celebrate with them and feel good,” Pirtle said. “And when things don’t go well, you hurt for them.”

Their favorite stories to tell are the ones in which Belton had a close win or loss to a team that was considered better.

“When they put on that red jersey, it was an honor and they weren’t going to let someone whup them,” Pirtle said.

For these men, football isn’t about the plays that are run or the scores on the board, it’s about the boys on the field.

Joe Smith believes football is an advantage for students to learn about what it means to be a part of a team and a community.

To Pirtle, football is about the kid who no one thought would amount to anything who works hard to become an outstanding player.

“The true Belton fans are the ones that support the kids,” Robert Dominquez, a 1974 graduate, said. “These same guys are the ones sitting in the stands for the last 50 years.”

These men will be in their seats tonight ready for that first kickoff, cheering on their team.

“Once a Belton Tiger, you’re always a Belton Tiger,” Sullivan said.

@temple-telegram.com