Homecoming is more than meets the eye
This week is Homecoming, and all of the festivities are in full effect. All of the offices and buildings are decorated according to the theme “Traditions to Treasure,” and the annual car bash is going on on Buskirk Field as I write this. The homecoming parade, which took place last night, was a hit, and incorporated the entire community, young and old. (My two favorite groups were the tiny gymnasts and the alumni cheerleaders.)
But, homecoming is so much more than just a game surrounded by a bunch of festivities. Now, I’m not going to go into the history of homecoming or something like that, but I am going to share an experience that really makes me appreciate this year’s match-up.
On Saturday, the Thundering Herd football team takes on the Pirates of East Carolina. There is a bit of history between the two conference rivals. As many of you know, the Pirates were the last team to play the Herd in 1970 the night of the deadly plane crash. I never really thought about the effect that this would have on those players of ECU until I overheard something really moving a few years ago.
It was my sophomore year, and I was walking to the Student Center for some reason a few hours before the game. I cannot even remember why I was there because that didn’t even matter. As I walked into the building, I saw a group of older men standing around the memorial fountain dressed head to toe in East Carolina purple. I didn’t think much of it as there are often groups of people standing around the fountain. But, it was when I was leaving that the most touching thing occured.
The large group had dissapated, but there were still two people standing by the fountain. The two were clearly father and son, and the son was clearly intrigued by what the father was saying. I could tell that the father was tearing up as I tried to avoid the feeling of intruding as I quickly walked past. But, they were in their own moment and were completely unaware of what was going on or that I was even there. At the moment that I walked past them, I heard the father say, “Football was never the same. Everytime I played, I would just think of the last person I tackled who never made it home.”
The talk continued, and I was stunned. I was completely oblivious to what was going, but I then put the pieces together. These older men were members of the team who played the Herd that terible night. They had been rivals competing for the win, but in the blink of an eye it had all changed. Now, they had come back to pay their respects to those opponents, and to share that with their children who were most likely following their father’s football dreams.
As a member of the Herd community, I had never really thought about what that night might have meant to that Pirates team. My vision is very short-sided and I only ever thought of the immediate like the university or families, but it suddenly hit me that there was so much more to the situation.
This homecoming is so much more because of the deep connection between the two teams. While they may be conference rivals today, it really shows how in just under 40 years such a feeling of normalcy can be returned.
So, while I will be in the stands cheering on my Herd to beat the Pirates, I will also remember that there was once so much more than football to these two teams.
But, it is like Mathew McConaughey’s Jack Lengyel says in We Are Marshall, “One day we will be like every other team, where winning is everything, and nothing else matters.” And, that day is today.