If your brother is in the championship basketball game, you go to it. If your sister is going to graduate from college, you attend the ceremony. Why? Because they have worked long and hard to get there and deserve your recognition and support.
So then why can't you give the same recognition and support to your best friends who busted their buns creating a football team the school could be proud of? Really. After your friends have suffered through two-a-day practices all summer long, as well as practices every day after school, they deserve to have their classmates watch them play.I have good friends on my school's football team, but instead of watching the game, for which they have so painfully prepared, I bunch up with the rest of the student body at the back of the end zone and socialize. Don't get me wrong - I love our football team and try to support them. I will deck myself out full body in our school colors (orange and black) and cheer my guts out until I'm too hoarse to speak. I just can't seem to do it for the entire game.
Why? The high school curse: Whenever you get 75 percent of your school together at the same event, nobody's going to pay attention to what's hap-pening. This is because the only time most kids see each other is during school, when they're being hounded and controlled by control-freak teachers. So when they get together, they want to have a good time.
A couple of games ago, I tried to break the curse. I went to our school's football game and sat on the front row of the bleachers, far away from the hang out, by the end zone. I was right behind the cheerleaders and could see the field perfectly. I watched every second of the game and still cheered my guts out, but this time I didn't mind the hoarse voice because I was supporting my team and having fun.
The next time I saw all my friends on the team, I was able to congratulate them on their good plays and tell them what a great job they did. But this time I knew what I was talking about, and they knew I was sincere.
So I no longer feel that I'll miss out on the high school experience by not socializing in the corner. I actually feel that by supporting my team of friends, I'll be more a part of our school.
So maybe I'll miss flirting with that good-looking girl, or maybe I won't hear the latest gossip about my ex-girlfriend. But in high school, does any of that really matter? The one thing I won't miss out on is supporting my friends. Break the curse that has been in control of high school students for countless decades. Watch your next football game and socialize afterward; then sit back and reap the benefits.