On Saturday, Ward Melville held their nerve-wracking homecoming football game against Northport Senior High School, which was greatly publicized by flyers and announcements. However, an astounding amount of people went to homecoming with reasons aside from cheering on the football team.

There were some who went to homecoming to watch the game. As those people in the stands jumped up and cheered, screaming with pure glee that said a footballer scored a touchdown, there was an immense sense of pride dangling in the air. As everyone came down from that brief joyful high, faint grins were still imprinted on their faces. It’s that feeling, that pride, that made people come and support the team.

However, there was another group of people that, during the course of the game, was seen walking around with their friends in clustered groups, waiting on the long line to buy food, playing their own games of football or baseball in the adjacent fields – activities that do not include cheering on the football team. Others came for only a little while to simply work a shift at a booth before leaving or strolling to 7-Eleven.

The ‘Friday Night Lights’ posters hanging around the school glorify the act of watching football games, making it sound rather lame to some students. Most at the bonfire were required to come for clubs such as Student Government. To many, homecoming was simply a time for students to gain community service hours or hang out with their friends, and not a time to bask in the glory of Patriot touchdowns. This lends some thought to the true meaning of school events such as homecoming, the bonfire, and more.

Do people truly want to support their team, or do they just want to hang out with their friends, walk to 7-Eleven, or gain community service hours?