Varsity cheerleading was the only sport I was ever cut from. I guess I wasn't peppy enough. Plus I never understood the phrase "school spirit," but I think I had it.
In high school my best friends ("the crew" as we called it) were comprised of football players and football fans. Our weekends consisted of a Friday evening game, a Friday night celebration and then two days of recovery.
I was there when Oneida High school went to the sectional finals in 2002. I remember the game at the Carrier Dome, and being certain we were going to beat Solvay.
We didn't.
My friend David even tried to give the team some momentum by running on the field when many fans were losing hope (the result was removal by force from the Dome)
I didn't lose hope until the last seconds of the game.
It seemed like the game was within grasp.
We can do it. We can do it. Oh crap, they are taking a knee.
It was eerily similar this Sunday at the state finals. Except there was about 2,000 more Oneida fans there and the stakes were even higher.
But all along I felt like the win was doable until there were suddenly only 10 seconds on the clock.
It was disappointing to say the least. I was sad for the players who went to bed the night before so certain that a state title was within reach.
But, they can't say they didn't try, because the worked hard and a 16-12 score against a team as experienced and talented as Rye is nothing short of awesome.
