Okay, so I’ve been trying to get a definitive list of Florida high school football state champions. It’s way harder than you’d think! Seriously, I thought this would be a quick Google search, but it turned into a whole afternoon project.
Digging Through the Internet
First, I hit up Google. You know, the usual – “Florida high school football champions,” “FHSAA champions list,” that kind of thing. I found some decent-looking websites, but a lot of them were incomplete, only went back a few years, or were just plain confusing.
Then I stumbled upon some message boards and forums. Lots of passionate fans, for sure, but it was mostly people arguing about specific games or teams. Not exactly a comprehensive, reliable list.
I checked out the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) website. I figured that would be the official source, right? Well, it was better, but still kinda clunky to navigate. I had to click through a bunch of different pages and PDF files to piece things together.
Putting It All Together
So, I decided I was going to make my own list. I started copying and pasting information from the different sources I found. It was a mess! Different formats, different years covered… It was like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces.
I spent a good couple of hours organizing everything in a spreadsheet. Sorting by year, making sure the team names were consistent, double-checking everything… It was tedious, but I was determined to get it right.
Still Some Gaps
Honestly, even after all that work, I’m not 100% sure my list is perfect. There are still some gaps, especially for the older championships. And I’m sure there are some debates about specific classifications or whatever. It’s a work in progress!
But hey, I learned a lot about Florida high school football history! And it’s pretty cool to see how many different schools have won championships over the years. It’s definitely a reminder of how much talent there is in this state.
Going forward must be more diligent.
