AC photo 22

August 27, 2017

August football is a welcomed shout from a good friend across a busy street.  Most yelling on the street is annoying or rude, but the sound of an old friend’s voice touches our sense of self and immediately takes us to the comfort of the familiar.  Each commun­ity in and around Chicago celebrates the return of this beloved friend in its own way.

In Frankfort the players lock arms and march onto the field carrying an American flag. In Glen Ellyn the school band leads the team as they march down the hill to the field.  In New Lenox bagpipes lead the team onto the field.  Along with the individual traditions on each cam­pus, fans everywhere are certain to smell the overworked grills of boosters raising money and hear the PA announcer butchering the name of a linebacker who has just made his tenth tackle in the sophomore game.

And after fans wrap up the hurried conversations that result from bumping into neighbors not seen in months, and find the best place to sit, and the National Anthem has been sung, that’s when fans realize, “This is our community.”

We don’t all make the same amount of money.  We don’t all practice our faith at the same address. We didn’t all vote for the same candidate for President.  But we have come together as one–if only for three hours—because each of us in his or her own way loves our community.

The players on the field show their love during two-a-days in ninety-degree heat.  The cheer­leaders show their love with a smile and an enthusiastic voice no matter the score. The coaches and school administrators show their love by finding just the right combination of words and emotions hopefully to get every student in the stands to learn, and grow, and mature enough to under­stand that win or lose, “This is our community.”