Skip to main content

Friday Night Lights

Friday night lights were blazing last week - when for the first time in the history of our little town, the Saugatuck Indians clinched the district title! You can see the sheer joy on Matthew's face and the pride in his father's eyes in the picture above.

Leading up to and during the game, there were several things that made the victory even more sweet. The first being that the sports writers in the area, to a person, all predicted the opponents, Climax-Scotts, to win. They'd had a perfect season - until Friday. The second was that we had to travel quite a distance (nearly 90 minutes) to get to the game. And the weather was frigid and snow was blowing - thankfully it was blowing towards the Climax-Scotts stands and was at our backs. And then our quarterback injured his shoulder and had to sit out for a good portion of the game. Thankfully, the replacement quarterback (a sophomore called up for the playoffs from the junior varsity team) did not let the stress effect his play because he had a stellar game. 

The first touchdown came when the quarterback ran nearly 85 yards on the initial kick-off. What a way to start the game and it likely set the tone for the rest of the game! At half-time, we were up by quite a bit and you could almost see doubt of a victory being erased from the players and fans minds.

At game's end, the fans literally swarmed onto the field - sweaty players were hugging and high-fiving. Pictures were taken. The trophy was awarded. There were more hugs and high-fives and then we all started the drive back to Saugatuck-Douglas.

There were more Friday night lights awaiting the team when they returned to town because the fire trucks were waiting for the team bus at the Saugatuck Brewery on the edge of town. The players got onto the the fire engines and the parade began. At 11:30 on a Friday night, in this town that loves parades, the all-time most joyous parade began with fire engine lights flashing and sirens blaring. Followed by the fan bus, the band bus and the cars of all the parents and fans with their horns honking. What a wonderful greeting for these hard-working, doubt-erasing, high school athletes!!

It simply confirmed for me the benefits of a small-town. I cannot imagine such a hullabaloo in Grand Rapids or Chicago or even Holland. For these young men, I am sure it is a night they will never forget and a story they will tell for generations to come. And I imagine that they will forever remember the lights, both on the field and from the fire engines, of this Friday night.

I know that I will always remember the lights, the night and mostly the pure joy my not-so-little Matthew experienced that Friday.

Comments

  1. Congratulations to Matthew! A memory that he definitely will never forget!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Saugatuck rocks! And so does the Piggins Clan!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love that picture! That is so cool, after you sent me a text about them winning I sent Matthew a text. I am so happy for Matthew and the team!
    Love you,
    Kerri

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Tough time to be a Pollyanna

Remember when 9/11 was just a date or a number you called in an emergency? Our lives changed dramatically post 9/11. For weeks after that September day, we seemed to walk around in a fog, like the haze that loomed over the now-fallen twin towers. I remember trying to minimize my obsession with the news, trying to keep the three little Piggins away from the enormity of the disaster. Remember when corona was simply a beer best served with a lime wedge? It now and forever will be instead associated with this virus that has upended our world in ways we could never have imagined. This tiny little, microscopic virus has brought the mighty to their knees. It has us quarantined and distancing socially (though I believe we've been doing this emotionally for years) and working from home. As anxiety peaks, our economy tanks. As toilet paper and hand sanitizer flies off the shelves, we are looking for new ways to stock our pantries. A good friend observed, "I never thought I'd...

Treatment begins

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Today is the day I begin, at last, treatment. Today is the day I begin to kick cancer's ass. Today is the day I start infusing ugly, nasty, side-affect laden, toxic chemicals for the greater good. Today is a day that I wish I could rewrite the script for completely deleting the part requiring me to need breast cancer chemo. And yet, here it is and at 1:15 EST I will be at the Cancer & Hematology Center in Holland. It's where I will be a lot for the next five months. It's where I will, I'm sure (and surety is something I have less of these days as I know not how I will respond to chemo), create new friendships and forge bonds with people that I am currently unfamiliar. Because that's who I am; a lover of people and a woman that wants to know and love on all the people she comes to meet.  I don't know why I have breast cancer but someday I will ask God (along with a whole bunch of other questions!). I do b...

Christmas cards

I sat down to reluctantly address Christmas cards. While our list has slowly dwindled through the years it's still a sizeable number, especially when it's viewed as a task approached reluctantly . Know what I mean? Some Christmas 'tasks' are a lot less taskier - like decorating or shopping or eating or opening presents. I mean, there's a whole different level of enthusiasm associated with 'tasks' that aren't viewed as tasks - I can't ever remember a time when I sat down to reluctantly open a present or eat a Christmas cookie! Anyway, I approached the Christmas card addressing with a less-than-positive, more bah-humbugish attitude. I poured a cup of coffee, grabbed the markers (I had to have a green, a red and a black one), the list and of course the envelopes (which John had already stuffed with the card). I turned on some Christmas music, but not too loud or it would distract me (and it really doesn't take much to distract me. Squirrel!),...