If you have never seen Division III football, you are missing something special. A bunch of young men who know they are going to school to get an education that will lead to graduate school or a job. But they still love football and aren't ready to give up on being the "boys of fall" yet. And there's an assortment of fans in the stands to go with those boys on the field. I've enjoyed these games. The play is enthusiastic and fun. And there is just something so middle American about the entire event.
One Saturday we drove to West Virginia for the game. Seated in the row in front of us just a few seats over was an English professor and her husband. Next to them was another teacher from my son's school. It was a cold, windy, rainy day and here were two teachers spending their Saturday watching their students play ball. Not because of incredible tailgates or exciting televised coverage of scholarship cheerleaders or bands. Just because they wanted to be there to watch their students. I loved that my son is going to a school that has teachers so invested in their students.
Another Saturday we went to small town Southwestern PA for the last game of the regular season. Our team was going for an undefeated season. We had already gotten our conference championship trophy the week before and with that our spot in the DIII playoffs. The other team was playing for pride and the bragging rights to say they were the only team in the conference to beat us. There were close to 5 thousands of people there. It was a hard fought game and they got the bragging rights. The boys played hard, the other team made fewer mistakes and earned the victory. Somehow that makes it easier to take on one hand and yet harder to take on the other hand. One particular memory stands out from that sunny afternoon.
Prior to the kickoff when the typical announcement for the national anthem was made, the entire stadium went silent and I think the area surrounding the stadium did, too. You truly could have heard a pin drop. Hats were off, people sang, and students from local high schools and both colleges stood still, silent, respectful. It was touching. I teach at an inner ring urban school and we have to have announcements to instruct students on the appropriate behavior for the national anthem or pledge of allegiance. Not here in Southwestern PA, not among those boys on the field or the assortment of fans that come with them. The atmosphere gave me a chill because I felt like that respect had been learned and earned through family members who made that moment possible. Parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts who had served and those who hadn't but wouldn't let the respect for that service be forgotten. It touched my soul.
