It’s easy to tell when football time south of the river rolls around. The coolness in the late evening air, rows of cars lining highway 70 leading to the school; however there is one key element that is at every game…year after year…something/someone that you may have never noticed or gave any thought to…but take them away, and the game is not the same. They are the fence walkers! Ah yes, the fence walkers can be seen at every game, home or away, and they are just as much apart of Midway football as the green and white colors.
Who are the fence walkers? Those who make up the fence walkers are simply this: Green Wave Football fans! They are there to lend support, have friendly chats with the referees, trash talk to the opponents, and provide the Midway coaching staff with “what you should’ve done” suggestions. The fence walkers are not the kids throwing the Nerf football around in front of the bleachers; they are not the students playing grab-tail with their friends; the fence walkers are fans who rarely miss a play; in fact, many can be seen sprinting down the sidelines in hot pursuit as a Midway player breaks a long run. They’ve also been known to aid in tackles when other teams are driven out of bounds. Paintrock native Archie Edgemon stated, “I recall when a couple of Midway players drove a Tellico player a long ways out of bounds, into the fence, and into the heart of the fence walkers who could not contain themselves as they assisted with the tackle as best they could. It’s the only time that I’ve seen the Coppers called on the fence walkers.”
One popular story of the fence walkers came during the 1988 sub-state game against Donnellson Christian (“the bunch from Nashville”). The Waves had the ball on the goal line and QB Lance Wheaton stretched the ball over the goal but nope, no signal. Same thing next play, Wheaton stretches the ball over the goal, no TD signal. Coach Branson turned to the fence walkers and yelled “did he score?” To which the fence walkers replied without hesitation, “Twice!”
The faces may have changed, some have gone…some have joined…some have been along the fence for decades, and as long as there’s Midway football there will be the fence walkers.