TOUCHDOWN! AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!

For the months of August and September, football season is the talk of the schools. Students go with friends, parents cheer on the benches, and cheerleaders rally up spirits. Despite the general excitement for football games, the spirit of high school football games vary from school to school.

Aaron Kim, a junior in Los Altos HS, provides a detailed account of his experience of football games and the atmosphere. After being on ASB and going to his first football game of the season, he remembers how “everyone was super hyped to beat their (the rival) butts”. The exhilaration of when his team scored sent everyone in the stands to stand up and cheer until losing their voices. The team spirit in Los Altos is so elevated that “everyone dresses in blue clothes, blue hair, blue everything”! Aaron says he goes for unified feelings he gets despite the diversity and differences people have. It gives him a chance to open up to strangers and connect with others all due to their mutual desire to win and experience a great time at one of the biggest high school experiences.

On the other hand, Jayden Roh, a junior at Fairmont Preparatory Academy, recalls a different atmosphere in the football games: “Everyone was on their phones and ASB people had to get the people up to join the cheer...nobody feels the hype anymore and don’t want to go to the games.” Both students are part of ASB, which meant attendance in the football games was mandatory, but had different reactions due to the intensity of the game. Jayden could only recollect terrible losses for his school’s football team, and the empty bleachers with only 15 students showing up on average. Despite the down mood, Jayden does agree that the football games themselves have an effect on one’s mood and remembers that “when they are doing good, they start to scream and cheer” even if they lose the game in the end. Similarly to Aaron, Jayden remarks, “The good memories consist of the conversations and how people talk a lot. You get to know a lot of different people and be social.”

Overall, the flair of football games is still alive, even if the team doesn’t win. Both sides, win or loss, enjoy the games and gain new memories of their short high school career. For Aaron, his favorite part is when “we win the game, because we have a tradition where we play the DJ Khaled song “All I do is Win” ; we do a unified dance, sing, and do motions together.” But for Jayden, it comes down to his friends who go to the football game. So what makes or breaks the atmosphere at a football game? There are many factors, but the exhilaration felt with friends and adrenaline from the game, cheers, and dances shape the memorable experiences and create an effervescent ambience.

<Sara Lim/Sonora High School 12th>