On Oct. 11, a crisp and cool fall night with odors of popcorn and hot chocolate
in the air, Oberlin High School celebrated its annual Homecoming with a
football game and extra pomp surrounding it. The marching band played part
of its halftime show with the lights out - and the two twirlers used flaming
batons. The Oberlin Indians beat the
Keystone Wildcats 19-10.
But the game wasn't the most important part of the game for many of the
people in the packed Oberlin High School stadium.
"I don't watch the game," said Langston Middle School eighth grader
Andy Swanson. Why does he go to games? "Talk," he said, though
he was reluctant to disclose popular topics.
Oberlin High School first-year Asia Cash was less reluctant about that.
"We talk about how cute the boys are," she said as balled candy
wrappers were thrown through the air in the student section where she was
sitting.
In that section of the splintered wooden bleachers, one middle school student
told another, "I'm like, `No, Mom, you didn't say that."
And for some spectators, games are a chance to watch children grow up. "It's
really fun to see all these kids we've known since grade school," said
E.B. Michael, a football fan and father of the Homecoming queen.
