Challenger

It's Friday night. I'm bundled up in my sweatshirt, sock cap, and sitting in the bleachers at Apollo with my friends. I've got a hotdog in one hand and hot chocolate warming the other. The lights are bright over the gridiron. The excitement of the game in front of me and the pride for my school are building up in my stomach. Are you ready for some football?

I love going to football games on friday nights. There's something so classic about it. Going and cheering on our boys as they play the best sport in America, is not just a game, it's life for us in the south.

The spirit of the Friday night game is something that directors dream of capturing on film. The passion of the players and the roar of the crowd is just a little different here on the Mason- Dixon line. Down here, stadiums may seat 10,000 in a high school stadium. Up north, they may have that many seats in a college stadium.

The whole town goes crazy for Friday nights. Some towns' homecomings consist of a parade through their main street. Which, by the way, I wish so bad was an event Owensboro would consider.You can often find old men sitting, drinking their coffee and cheering over James Williams’s 98 yard kick off return that broke the school's (and his brother's) record.

It's not fall without football. Whenever the weather cools down outside, it reminds me of football. The crisp air on my face as I watch the game is something I have missed throughout the summer months. I love trying to snuggle with my blanket, cheer, AND not spill my hot chocolate in the process! Wish me luck!

Friday nights at AHS are probably so intense because the game has been talked up since the end of the game last Friday. People are making plans for the"big game".
I'm sure you'll all agree with me, tailgating before the game is probably the best part of the night. Getting out with some friends and cooking some burgers, is a great way to begin the festivities. Yum, I can just see it now... the hotdogs, the hamburgers, chips, and desserts! And what's football without wings?

I'm actually one of the elite few who enjoy watching the game instead of circling around the track a million times and socializing. Since there has a been a fence put up around the track stopping people from walking, I truly hope that people will still come to the games and cheer! We need to get more of a pit going at football games.

But anyway, I may not know much about the game, but I try. Football is a comlicatied sport; an artform if you will. Big thanks goes out to Katie Carpenter for teaching me the ways of the game and explaining confusing calls to a blonde girl such as myself!
Of course, nothing makes these Fridays the highlight of my week without the football players themselves. They are so intense and serious about it. Coach Gooch is pretty awesome to watch as well when he gets crazy about something.

My fellow Apollo students, our football players have worked hard in the summer in extreme heat and long hours. They deserve our support at their games! Go Eagles!