Nostalgia – a photo challenge

Sunday morning, October 2 – it’s fall. Fall means cooler nights, shorter days, pumpkins, apples, Halloween, and Friday Night Lights – high school football.

Olivia and William root on their Tigers! State Championship game 2009
Olivia and William root on their Tigers! State Championship game 2009

B and I have been going to high school football games since we were kids. We started taking W when he was young, then O came along. B and I would watch from the end zone along the fence and the kids would watch until they were old enough to hang out with their friends, then we ‘graduated’ to the stands when W reached high school. In ’14 and ’15, W was on the sidelines. He’d getting his playing time on Saturday, but he hung in there for four years as a high school football player. I admire him and have great respect for his stick-it-to-ed-ness. W graduated in May and is off testing his wings at the next step at the local community college, but we still go Friday night to watch and root on the Tigers.
Friday night, we were in the stands. It was the final home game of the season, and it was Homecoming. Tigers were winless in five starts. It’s been a tough couple of years for the Tigers – last year ended 2-7 after making it to the quarter-finals of the state playoffs in ’14.

Watching the game brought back memories from when the kids were younger. I remembered back to ’09. W was in sixth grade, his first year at middle school, and O was in first grade. The Tigers had made the playoffs and the first game was Friday, October 31 – Halloween.

Olivia with our friend Adam - on the track rooting on the Tigers!
Olivia with our friend Adam – on the track rooting on the Tigers!

In elementary school, Halloween is a big deal and O had dressed up as a Tiger. She and her momma had walked the neighborhood and trick or treated. When we were getting ready to go to the game, O refused to take off her Tiger costume. So we went, she got in free that night and the Tigers won. O was convinced it was because she had worn the Tiger costume and she wore that Tiger suit to every playoff game the rest of the season. When we followed the team to the state championship, she was in the stands in her Tiger costume. And, the Tigers won, in over-time.

The following season, she squeezed into the Tiger suit for the first game. The Tigers went undefeated and won another state championship.

O’s bigger and too ‘grown up’ to wear the Tiger suit any longer, but we’re Tigers to the core. Maybe when she gets to high school next year, she’ll get wear one of the mascot costumes. But, we’ll always have the memories of those early Tiger years. Ironically, the Chicago Tribune ran a story about great places to watch high school football in the Chicagoland area and Red Grange Field was featured – the photo is from the first game of last year, our last home win. best_hs_experiences_0930

The Tigers prevailed Friday night, 39-32, to notch their first win of the season. Three games remain on the schedule none of the games will be easy, but that’s why the Tigers play and we cheer them on. Go Tigers!

Today is gonna be a great day. Yesterday, we went west to the country in the afternoon and selected some pumpkins for the Fall front porch display and Halloween. It brought back memories. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, looking back to the past, but ALWAYS looking forward.

What memories does Fall bring back for you?

Today’s post is inspired by last week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgia. For this challenge, show us what nostalgia means to you — perhaps a moment or scene that makes you feel wistful, happy, sad, or somehow longing for the past. It might be with friends, family, or by yourself — anywhere, anytime of year. We can’t wait to see your interpretations of this theme!

pumpkins in Earlville, iL - we go back every year
pumpkins in Earlville, iL – we go back every year

7 thoughts on “Nostalgia – a photo challenge

    1. Mary, thank you. She is something else, indeed. She makes me smile, cry, and scream sometimes at the same time… but she make me smile most of all. thanks for stopping by. The Tigers notched W #2 last night 48-27… two more games, but no Tiger suit.

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