THE CROWD fills the stands, row after row, of people in our high school’s colors. The family in front of you sits down with a fresh hot dog from the concession stand. It’s still steaming with a drizzle of ketchup laced across the top from end to end. It smells so good you think you “just might have to go to the concession stand and get your own.” On the way there, you run into your old favorite teacher. You run into your old high school crush, wave, and maybe catch up. In the background, the scoreboard keeps ticking up, and the crowd’s roar gets louder. The moths and other critters dance around the floodlights tens of feet in the air.
We’ve all experienced what it feels like to be at a high school football game under the Friday night lights. We know what it feels like to get the jitters as the first play begins — the excitement when our team scores the first touchdown. For towns across the country, sports like high school football bring us together. It gives cheerleaders the experience of a lifetime, pushing them to perform impressive stunts, flips, and lifts. The band students learn to perform in front of hundreds of people and how to work together to make art. Hometown games are a perfect mixture of fun, family, nostalgia, and teamwork.
Healthy competition teaches things you can’t learn alone at a desk. It shows the band, the players, and the cheerleaders how to have discipline. It shows them how to treat others. It pushes them to be humble and show sportsmanship. Because while we win today, next week may hand us a rough defeat. These qualities help make our town a better place. And the good news is — our town isn’t the only place building up the next generation of young leaders. Schools across the nation, from California to Maine, are showing students what it means to be a team player.
As we grow older, we run out of time to do the things we love. We forget what it feels like to sit in the crowded stands with a warm hotdog in our hand and balance Dr. Pepper in our lap after sitting down. There’s a hidden treasure in our county, and we shouldn’t take it for granted. Hometown sports have shaped who we are, and they’ll shape the next generation — and the one after that. Our hometown courts and fields introduce stars to the game.
This is where champions are made. GN
