Homecoming: what at most schools is a day or two of festivities, typically composed of a football game and an all school dance the next night, is at Cooper a weeklong celebration of school spirit, unity, and all around togetherness that runs through every grade and every social group. However, few Cooper traditions are as widely celebrated and attended as the Homecoming game.

On the Friday of Homecoming week, many faculty, students, and alumni joined together to cheer on the football team in their hard fought victory over Legacy Prep, with a final score of 53-8. In the first half of the game, the varsity football players managed to rack up countless touchdowns, while holding the opposing team to only 8 points. Not only did they prevent the opposing team from scoring more than one touchdown, in the second half they held Legacy to a complete shutout, stopping them from scoring even one point.

Additionally, Cooper’s own cheerleaders managed to maintain a constant feeling of crowd excitement and passion, a difficult task to accomplish considering the near 90 degree heat (not to mention humidity). Whether it be the fantastic tumbling by Amelie Beck, Addy Tague, Brooke Taylor, and countless others, or the dazzling confetti cannons set off in the final seconds of the game, the cheerleaders continue to impress with their exuberant school spirit.

Perhaps the most impressive element of both the game and the subsequent dance was the sheer masses of attendees. Looking back from the “senior section” of the bleachers, nearly every seat was filled by a Cooper parent, teacher, graduate, or student. To see such fiery support for the football team in their heroic victory was truly a sight, although admittedly I expected more passion from the juniors in attendance.

However, the game was not all sunshine and rainbows. One unforeseen consequence of the sheer volume of people in attendance was of course, the cleanup. As great as it was to see the amount of people at the game and the dance that we did, the trash left behind nearly doubled the attendees in quantity. While I certainly recognize how sore our feet are from standing for the duration of the game, it’s important that in the future we remember Coach Hoye’s instructions: pick three. In the same way that we respect the efforts of all those who played, cheered, and helped with setup at the game, it’s equally important to respect those who come after us and are forced to clean up our mess.

Homecoming week, and especially the football game, was a tremendous show of what makes Cooper worth it: our ability to unite beyond a common purpose in spite of our differences. If only we can work to make the garbage that we leave behind a bit more manageable, I believe that we will be able to make spirit week, and all future Homecomings, a success for all members of the community.