The scene is set. It is a brisk afternoon in the middle of fall, and only one thing is on your mind. It is Friday, and you come to school with the eagerness to get out and relax over the weekend. More importantly, you’re looking forward to the perfect way to cap off a busy week of school and soak in a defining Central Catholic High School experience: Friday Night Lights. Gathering all of your closest friends and trying your best to match the student section’s theme, Friday Night Lights brings together the community in ways in which you would never expect. Now, I am not going to overburden you with the challenges COVID-19 has imposed on every one of our lives, but needless to say, things look a little different this year. Beyond those challenges, however, lie a hard-working and victorious Central Catholic Football Team that is awaiting the unrelenting support of their peers.

A game day in 2020 can entail a number of different things. Maybe you stream the game from your school iPad as you lay in bed, perhaps you screencast the game onto your television at home and watch with the family, or better yet, you gather with some buddies and project the game onto a huge bed sheet outside your house. Each of these ways of cheering for the Vikings is different, yet they all contain their own charms. As we delve into the ways in which your fellow peers support the varsity football team, it is important to look into highlights of each as well as any downfalls they may have.

Before I review any of my peers’ ways of celebrating, I will go on to describe my own COVID-19 game day traditions. For me, it is all about the food. The right food creates the right environment. It is the connecting thread that can turn a sub-par afternoon into a stellar Friday night. My go-to game day snack is nachos. Now there are many ways to make this dish, but I would argue there is one key element that distinguishes it from the others… toppings. Personally, I like to load my nachos with black beans, chicken, scallions, Monterey jack cheese, jalapenos, ground beef, chili con queso, and a nice chipotle aioli. A nice beverage is also key. I like to think I am not picky in this field and typically settle for a glass of ice water. After finishing that feast, I make my way up to my room and cheer on the Vikings from my bunk bed.

Now, you’ve heard it from me, let’s hear it from the people. Dylan Ilov, class of 2021, prefers a more laid back Friday night, “Honestly I just get ready for bed and then put the game on my computer.” Besides the dedication to food, Dylan and I have a very similar plan of attack to our Friday evenings. Alex Ribnicky, class of 2021, considers himself a family man, “Coming from a huge Central family, it is almost sacrilegious to not celebrate the Vikings in one way or another. I typically host a zoom for my family and screenshare the game over my laptop.” I value this approach because I firmly believe there is no better way to unite the Central community than through your own family. Jackson Hahn, class of 2021, goes above and beyond, “For the last few games I have projected the game onto the side of my house and gather around with some of my friends.” Jackson’s dedication to creating an exciting environment is inspiring to me and I will plan to apply it to wherever this postseason takes us.

Game day tradition is not defined by the set of ideal circumstances in which we all know and love, but is made by the set of efforts by each and every one of Central’s students and their willingness to pour energy into their school’s community.