There’s nothing more beautiful than the change of seasons in September, as you say goodbye to one time of the year and move into another. And for many Philipsburgers, well, this is just our favorite season of all. Football.
We are a sports-minded area in a way that isn’t all about the NCAA and the NFL. Oh, sure, I planned my November wedding around Penn State home games and the Steelers appearance on Monday Night Football, but that’s only half the story.
Our seasons are at least as much about the fields of battle as they are the leaves on the trees. Winter is basketball and wrestling. Spring is softball and baseball. Summer is soccer and yet more baseball. But fall? Well, the only difference between fall and football is the extra letters in the middle, because football is more than a season. It’s a passion.
I’m a big fan of watching the Nittany Lions and Steelers at home instead of in the stadiums because I don’t want to wait an hour to go to the bathroom, I can feed 20 people all day for the cost of a light snack at the concession stands, and I’m not willing to die to get out of the parking lot.
But I love Memorial Stadium, where the Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties meet their rivals. They aren’t the same exact bleachers we had when I was in high school, but the feeling is still the same. They aren’t the same boys I went to school with taking the field or the same girls cheering on the sides or the same kids playing in the band, but they are their sons and daughters.
I can’t wait to watch my nephew come to town to play in a few weeks, even if he will be wearing red and black instead of blue and white. Pee wee, junior high, junior varsity, senior high. There’s something about hometown football that distills the passion of the game into its purest form. It’s not about endorsements or bright lights. It’s about rooting for the home team and enjoying the game in its most basic form. Catch, run, kick, tackle.
Score.
Lori Falce writes weekly for the Rush Township/Philipsburg area. Send comments to sendlorinews@gmail.com.
