I must preface this by saying that while I have always been very involved with athletics at West, I somehow never found myself a part of the regular Friday night football tradition. Where other students would dress out the day of a big game and tailgate beforehand, I would simply go home and watch a movie with my family. I never really understood why people would go; I liked football at the collegiate level, but spending my Friday night sideline for a high school game just never appealed to me.

As I mentioned in my last column, West Forsyth’s Homecoming recently came to town. Now, while I didn’t always find myself at the weekly football games, I made it a point to attend homecoming in the past. But, I never stayed for the full game or sat in the pit of the student section. Last week, however, that all changed.

The student section has a specific order of seating. Freshmen in the back, then sophomores, juniors, and finally, seniors at the front. That way you get to inch closer to the field and feel more incorporated with each successive year at West. Since I’m a senior, all of my friends and I crammed into the front of the bleachers alongside dozens of other decked-out students, eager for the start of the game. The hype was palpable. As the game progressed and the Titans showed up, the excitement rose. After a touchdown, students would jump and cheer and throw water like there was no tomorrow. But, the best part of being in the student was definitely the drumline.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the drumline goes before the students and plays their set. This time, however, they were up close and personal. Normally, they’re situated on the track below the bleachers, but last Friday, the drumline stood directly in front of the students, so close that there was actually concern about their sticks flying off and hitting kids in the face (fortunately, no students were harmed in the jamming of these drummers). The drumline was the icing on the cake of the perfect Friday night, high school experience, and all I can say is that I wish I had realized this earlier.