The sound of hole punchers clipping tickets can be heard right as you walk in. "1, 2, check, 1, 2, 3," the announcer's voice is projected testing out his mic. Your nostrils fill with the smell of gooey cheese on fried tortillas, a snack for the down time later on.

As you make your way to the grand stand, the clacking of the metal against the bottoms of your shoes ignites what you're about to endure. You make your way up to where the caution tape is wrapped around so loosely, a restricted area for people only able to handle the noise that will follow through out the night. Rumbles fill the section where conversation is made passing the time before the clock hits seven. "Do you think we're going to win?" "This team seems really good, I hope we win." More and more people fill the space, squishing every last body, shoulder to shoulder, in the roped off section, where a group of noisemakers stand.

You look onto the perfectly trimmed, bright green grass with a resilient paint job of an eagle in the center. The Friday night lights are just starting to turn on to illuminate the exciting entertainment about to be unfolded.

Over to your right, minutes before the start, a giant dome is blown up covered in blue and gold surrounded by girls with glittery bows and pompoms. "Here come your O'Connor Eagles" is heard all around the stadium as players run out of the air filled structure tearing the banner in front of them. Cheers fill the bleachers as the big game is about to start.

As soon as the National Anthem is over, everyone in the stands sits except the middle, where all the students are located. It almost appears as the section is given a solo in a performance. Deep in the section, streamers are being passed along and everyone is shouting for the hope they might be given some like a classroom full of children begging the teacher to call on them.

The moment when the kicker kicks the ball, colored streamers are thrown into the air, like a giant surprise party and the hope that someone captures the picture perfect moment is shared by the section.

Throughout the first half, middle school cheers are screamed and jokes are made about what is taking place on center stage. Bodies lean up against one another and as the heat intensifies, people are drenched in sweat with the smell of it being distributed through out the section.

Two twelve minute periods pass and you can feel the relief from the student section as they are finally able to rest their numb feet from the endless time spent on them. Wind can be felt now that the section is sitting, and gaps start forming as people spend their break getting those desperately craved nachos they smelt earlier.

The action must be replaced with something else during this pause. Girls with shiny outfits flip on to the field. Music blasts and tumbling, dancing, turning, jumping and pyramids endure. As soon as their done, individuals scramble to place loud, brass instruments and tall white stepping stool structures to set the scene for the music ensemble. The field is swarmed with people in exuberant pink and purple fabric and a black cap with a striking feather. Their marching and touching of the right keys put a whimsy on the audience, where they are surrounded by rainbows and playful clouds, and symphonic sounds of the careful footsteps and blowing on their music makers.

All the sudden the scoreboard reads fourth quarter. Tensions heighten with nerves running and goosebumps appear up and down the arms and legs of everyone. The offense runs out to the field, securing their helmets, adjusting their mouthpiece. The quarterback signals the play as the others are gathered around him like a bonfire, listening in. Hands clap together in sync and the players get set and prepare for the start of their drive.

Thumping on the metal pews as foot steps bang up and down, as the center is about to snap the ball on 4th down, hoping for a 1st down conversion. "Hike," their faces drained of color, jaws clenched and fingers crossed. The student section, now a prayer circle. Eyes glued on the ball as its released out of the quarterbacks hand and roams freely in the sky. For a brief moment, the ball flies peacefully in the air and everyone is silent, hoping. Almost in slow motion, a player lifts off the ground and grasps the ball, that fit perfectly like a lock and key. As soon as the player lands back on the ground, he sprints forward with no looking back. "TOUCHDOWN!" Hands are thrown up, screams amplify through out the stands and the fight song pursues.

Leaving the bleachers, smiles and laughs are plastered on everyone's faces, all the worrying is gone with another win added to the record signifying another successful Friday night, but the anxiety of getting out of the parking lot is another story.