V is for VICTORY!

I went to my first Lakeville South football game last night. Roshelle and I were all nerdy twin-like... we got these T-shirts that have the North Panther and the South Cougar on them both atop a helmet from their respective team and they say "1st Annual Battle of the Cats" and at the bottom last night's date. Then we got sweatshirts from the school store that are red and say "Lakeville South" on them and "Cougars" along the arms. We were ready to support our home team.

The kids were so excited today... they thought that we weren't going to win (I won't keep you in suspense--there is a telling title of the blog anyway). We had a pep fest that was quite rowdy and I don't think the administration will allowed whipped cream to be brought into the gym again (a pie search turned into a pie fight that involved kids throwing them at teachers and at each other) and there was a lot of chanting and craziness. Roshelle was brave enough to go up as a teacher volunteer and search for a piece of gum in a whipped cream pie, but I declined. Maybe next year. :)

And there was all kinds of ridiculous vandalism all this week... Someone from North spray painted "Get ur own tradition" on a rock that they players had been painting, and someone from South retaliated and painted their rock and some say even bleached the field. Certainly not all in good fun, and I'm embarrassed at some of the choices these folks made.

We were certainly not expecting to win. We don't have seniors.

And when Roshelle and I arrived at the game, we realized just how crazy this town is about its football, especially these high school teams. I get the feeling Lakeville is used to being in the top ranks for sports, so I think the split is even more interesting. There were more police there then usual, hoping to prevent any hot feelings leading to fights. (Some parents even wouldn't let their younger kids go.) Thankfully, we didn't see any. As we arrived, two of our students said hell0--one, E, was mine, and definitely tough to settle down during 6th hour, but he was all excited and said, "Hey, Miz Sutton, what's up?" and put his hands out for a low-five. We settled in and Ryan drove two hours (right after work from Winona) to join us. (He definitely got a gold star for the day!) And we were winning--3 to 0, and I kept thinking, "Lordy, what is going on?" Then we were 10-0 and that's how they ended the first half. North's pep band is great--it's huge and has tons of energy and I guess it's been to DC to play, which is impressive. Both teams, North and South, combined their dance squad for a performance, and I was in awe over the competition cheerleaders (do they have springs in their feet?).

It really felt like fall. There we were, sitting on a hill because it was too packed to get in, packed on the hill because this town adores football (but luckily, it was mostly parents out there, and it as a mixed crowd, but mostly Panther fans) and all the kids were tearing it up on the hill with glow sticks and footballs of their own and the geese were flying overhead and Roshelle's room mate Rachel came with a blanket, so we were sitting there in our red sweatshirts, feeling all cozy.

(They even had an Outback tent--how insane is that?!?)

Anyway, we came back from half time and North scored and they scored again and were up 12-10. And we kept thinking, "This is OK because it's a really good game and we're not really supposed to win anyway. I mean, we had feared getting clobbered." We kept thinking about our lack of seniors. But then it all kind of changed and they won. :) They ended up winning 24 to 19. It was amazing...

Anyway, yes, I got swept up in the excitement. You really could feel it in the air at school yesterday. I was excited for the game. A football game! (Of course, we have a whole different dedication to this building then we might to a professional team or even to the Gophers, though I do like it when they win too, just not quite as much as "my" high school...) And I am going to work two of the games in the future, one of which might be the homecoming game (if it's not, then I'm attending the homecoming game).

And afterwards, Roshelle and I were walking back to my car and all of these cars are whizzing by because we parked really far away and this truck full of kids goes by and I hear a "HEY MIZ SUTTON!" and I wave and they are all excited and that just really made my night. :) (I'm fairly certain it was some of my kids from Comm-11, who are really, really growing on me...)

OK, I have to do some yardwork, but before I leave you...

Here's a little article from the Star Tribune:

Last update: September 17, 2005 at 6:29 AM

Preps football: South wins Lakeville clash

From Staff Reports

September 17, 2005

Lakeville South edged Lakeville North 24-19 on Friday in Lake Conference football in their first meeting.

The South Cougars, the suburb's new school without a senior class, took a 10-0 halftime lead on Lance Nelson's 28-yard field goal and Marcus Brumm's 8-yard touchdown pass to Zachary Martens.

Martens also scored twice in the fourth quarter, on a 11-yard pass from Brumm and a 35-yard run.

Mike Kvasnicka of Lakeville North also threw two TD passes, 13 yards to Jake Johnson and 5 to Ben Flavin. The Panthers' Adam Diamond scored on a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter and gave them a 12-10 lead.

Both teams are 1-2