Whether it is the excitement that runs through your body when the players emerge from the head of a Wildcat or the nail biting anxiety you get when your team is falling behind on the score board, there is something about Friday night lights that seems to draw people in.

For the past seven years beginning in middle school, the talk of the school would be about whom the football team was going to play and who would be attending. Posters would be made and cheers would be learned so the football players would be able to sense our support on game day.

High school is only slightly different in the fact that it is a bigger deal. Not only are the players who are on the field representing a school of about 2,000 students but they are potentially playing for their future. They play  their best game in order to catch the eye of a recruiter willing to put their faith in them, and give them a chance to make it in the NFL.

For the past four years of my high school career, I always tried my hardest to have school spirit. I would participate in dress-up days, wear maroon on game days and have no hesitation in expressing the fact that I was a proud Clear Creek High School Wildcat. But the place where I was able to truly show how much school spirit I had was at our varsity football games, where I made it a habit to attend all games, especially against Clear Springs or Clear Lake because that was when the intensity rose. That was when it seemed the community came together to support their high school football team and watch as they played their rivals, always expectant that their team would pull ahead and clench the victory.

Standing in the student section at football games has to be one my favorite high school memories. The support and pride the student body has for their football team is palpable as we all stand in unison, cheering for our team to help push them forward. It does not matter whether you’re a player on the field or a student in the stands, when you are standing in the midst of dozens of fellow class mates, you feel as though you are contributing just as much as the players on the field. You feel as though the chants and encouraging words you are yelling are going directly into the ears of the players and they are playing to make us proud.

From the flags to the giant cut-out heads, to the roller coaster and repetitive chants of “D, D give them the D,” and “U.S.A.” I have to say that our school sprit tops all others, especially when the legendary drum-line comes after half-time to give the student section just a little more “umpf.”

I think the most important attribute to have in no matter what you do, is the support from others. During school events such as pep-rallies and football games I think people from all different backgrounds and cliques come together and support each other. People don’t look around during football games in hopes to see someone they don’t like cheering and stop.  They continue cheering because not much else matters during those four quarters when you are trying to cheer, jump and pay attention to who is running on the field. As a senior being among such strong school spirit, uniting behind a team as one student class, these are memories I will cherish forever. These are memories that will serve as a reminder that when I can link myself to others and we learn to support our school as one, the possibilities are beyond what I could ever imagine accomplishing on my own. To me, that is the core of what school spirit is about, in its basic form- it is coming together, regardless of differences and standing behind a greater cause in hopes that each of our contributions creates encouragement that can fuel our team to victory.