2011 IHSAA Football, Week 9

After leaving the unusually long Iowa homecoming parade early, my dad, sister, and I walked to Bates Field to see City High play its final regular season game against Cedar Rapids Prairie. Despite leaving the parade early, though, we still arrived in the middle of the first quarter. The score was tied, 7-7, but the Little Hawks scored (on a pass play!) to take the lead as we walked down First Avenue to the entrance.

Tonight was pretty chilly, which I loved. We were all bundled up. I wore my heavy winter coat, a stocking hat, and pathetic Mizuno running gloves, which did not keep my hands warm at all. (Note to self: get new winter gloves.) Though the home crowd was a little on the thin side tonight, we stood at the top of the bleachers.

Speaking of the City High fans, I get the impression they are now a “wine and cheese” crowd. I never get the feeling there is any energy or excitement; I never hear the home crowd roar. It is a stark contrast to what I remember from high school and before. People were engrossed and very enthusiastic; they stood up and cheered, and then let the refs have it when they made bad calls. Having gone to every City High home game for the past two seasons, I have to say that energy is gone. Though people still stand and cheer, there is not much noise from the home side. Perhaps that has to do with the fact I always sit in the back and on the far south side of the stands. Plus, since new bleachers were installed, all the noise from the home stands seems to rise and dissipate.

A couple other things. Back in the day (i.e., when I was in high school), City High’s marching band was huge. Since then it seems to have shrunk a lot, and now I know why. On Wednesday night I attended the annual Bates Field Follies, a season-ending band show in the gym, with my sister. The show began with performances by the freshman band. The freshman band? Yep. Someone told me the band is now in fact so big the directors spun the freshmen off into a kind of show band that does not march. Crazy.

Since tonight was the last home game, the band did its traditional halftime craziness to end the marching season. Band members dressed in costume instead of their usual uniform and performed special songs, including “Thriller” and “Hey Jude.” They also did a rendition of “Party Rock Anthem,” and the whole band did a little dance during a pause. The students went wild, including those on the Prairie side. My sister told me the dance is called "the Bernie," which is basically people dancing like the dead Bernie Lomax of Weekend at Bernie’s fame. (It comes from Weekend at Bernie’s II, when Bernie is reanimated by voodoo and walks only when music is played. It is not the best movie, but I still like it.) Apparently, City High is now “the school that Bernie’s”:



Wow.

Anyway. The Little Hawks prevailed, 44-14, and will likely host a first round playoff game on Wednesday. The playoff pairings will be released tonight, so it should be interesting to see who the Little Hawks will face. With two losses, they will not have home field advantage and I will be surprised if they make it past the second round.