Restoring our Ranger Pride

I know, football is over covered. Countless newspaper articles, TV shows, and movies talk about Friday night football games. Heck, there is even a show called “Friday Night Lights.” What I want to talk about is not the bright lights, the touchdowns, the big crowds, or even the glory of high school football. I want to talk about 30 aluminum rectangles. Yes, as in aluminum the element, atomic number 13. I never truly realized the significance of those 30 aluminum rectangles until I took a step back and removed myself from them this past Friday and stood on the sideline of the field. I’m talking about the student section.

I understand, it’s cliché; however, I think the student section is pretty symbolic (here comes the nerdy writer side of me). Think about it. 250 students, freshmen through seniors, all standing together with one common thread: Forest Hills Central. It is kind of crazy in a way. You have the sophomores girls that got in a big fight last year standing next to each other, the senior guys that don’t care that they are completely painted pink, a freshman girl that doesn’t know whether she should chant or not, and the juniors that are worrying about the ACT even though it is three months away. All of us, with our different struggles and situations, standing together in support of something as simple as guys in helmets fighting over a leather ball.

The question is, why do we do it? Why do we dress up in ridiculous outfits and chant “OOH AHH YOU WISH YOU WERE A RANGER!” until we can’t talk anymore? It might just be the fact that us humans are pack animals, or it might be that we just want to hang with our friends, but the best explanation that I can find is that we are PROUD to be Rangers. Why else would we do it? Because I know that we aren’t screaming our heads off just for fun… we must care.
So, we can all absolutely lose our minds every Friday at football games. We can paint ourselves pink, wear weird outfits, and stand next to that person that you haven’t talked to since freshman year. My question is, where is the pride when we aren’t all in a pack of screaming people? Why is it when we are talking about FHC it is often negative? Because this past Friday we were saying “You wish you were a Ranger.” I know that we hear all the time that we are lucky to go to such a good school, but it’s true. Why not take a little pride in it like it was a football game? We can’t be afraid to talk about FHC like it is a good thing… because to me, it is. That is my challenge to you: let’s be proud to be Rangers. Because in the end, my blood will always run green and white.