#It’s what they do

Holly Kate OBrien

More stories from Holly Kate O'Brien

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If you have ever watched an ESPN talk show panel, you know the games are only one part to the process. To give Cherokee County players and coaches more recognition than the Atlanta radio stations, Cherokee County residents Von Brown, Keith Foley, and Micky Eubanks started their own talk show called Cedarwood Tavern to bring attention to local football teams. Coleman Rudoph joined them a few episodes later.

“[Our goal each week is to] highlight the games happening in Cherokee County, highlight players and give our thoughts on what is going to happen,” Brown said.

The group uses Twitter (@CedarwoodTavern) as a way to connect with students, parents, and teachers, as well as interact with the Cherokee County sports community. The hashtag, #IWWD, (“It’s what we do”), is posted to show the community excitement generated by high school football. The Cedarwood Tavern crew has done segments rating concession stand food, and collecting more than 3,000 school supplies, and sponsoring a wing-eating contest highlighting two players from each school. To grow their audience, the Cedarwood Team uses humor to interest followers.

“I did stand-up comedy in college and toured the U.S., Australia, and Canada before my HBO series took off,” Brown jokes. 

The fun-loving foursome wants to positively highlight players, coaches, and teams on each broadcast, but fans want to know if they will cover other sports, as well. The answer is most likely no. Each member of Cedarwood Tavern has a full time job outside of the talk show, and limited free time. In the spare time each does have, the team develops questions for guests that keeps their their livestream as entertaining and engaging as possible. 

“I think it is great how [Cedarwood] is covering Cherokee County sports in a way that has never been done and in a way that appeals to our generation. They keep it fun, positive, and cover all aspects from on and off the field,” RJ Head, senior, said. 

Another popular part of the radio show is rating the student sections in the county. Whether it is setting off smoke bombs, blasting music, or painting themselves, students battle to get their schools noticed.

“Cedarwood Tavern has added an interesting component to football seasons. Not only do they talk about the different football teams in the county, but they notice the entire environment of ‘Friday Night Lights’ and have created another competition outside of the game, one between the students in the stands, who is the best student section in the county,” Amanda Massey, teacher, said.

Follow Cedarwood Tavern on Twitter, and watch the livestreams to keep up with Cherokee County football and other exciting events.