Messinas Gone Global: 1st American Football Game

None of my kids have been to a high school football game...not the kind Americans would be used to anyways. We got the opportunity to start it all off right...with the opening season game being played with their arch rivals....the Bellevue East Cheftains. (The boys attend Bellevue West and are called the Thunderbirds). Now, I may have mentioned this before...but if not, it should be reviewed. Bellevue, NE is just south of Omaha, NE. The boys' high school mostly plays the schools within Omaha, as it is a class A school. Back when Bellevue was a smaller town (it's the oldest town in NE...but has never been too big until the last 15 years or so when the population just exploded) there was only one high school. When it separated into Bellevue East and Bellevue West...they kept mostly the same school colors. Bellevue East is purple and silver....Bellevue West is purple and gold. Bellevue University is also purple and gold. So you take a family who are huge fans of the Boston Celtics and implant them into this sea of purple and gold (Laker colors, ugh) and we have a lot to be desired when it comes to supporting our local teams with clothing. We honestly had NOTHING purple and gold. That, however, has changed a bit over the last few weeks. This game between East and West is a big hairy deal. The entire town seems to attend. There were as many standing (if not more) as there was seated in the stands. Each school designs and wears t-shirts just for this game. The theme (for both sides' shirts - which caused all sorts of problems) was "restore the order." It was an amazing first game for all of us. Lily was shocked at the noise. Tim couldn't believe the outfits people were wearing and how many parents were there, and Joe...well, Joe just jumped right in and painted his body purple and gold. :o)
They had a battle of the bands (both several hundred strong) and there was even a fly by for the kick off (because there was an airshow going on at Offutt AFB and there are a few generals who are parents at East and West that could pull some strings). :o) It was kinda cool, I must say. How often does a high school football game have a five ship flyby? :o)
The game was played at Bellevue East and ended with the West student body storming the field to thank their team for a 42-20 victory. Go T-birds!

Zac and Joe together after the game..."WE" rule! :o)

The West student body storms the opposing team's field after West handily beats East.

Rich and Tim appreciate the game...wearing their Bellevue West t-shirts.

Lily thought it was all a bit loud. (and it was!)

The five ship flyby for the kick off of the game. How cool is that?!

The Bellevue West Thunderbirds before the game...

Zac and Joe - who were best buds in Norway and are reunited again here for high school. Zac's family came out a year before us. We specifically tried to get into Bellevue West because Zach goes there. Joe and Zac will end up going to school from 7th thru 12th grade together (minus their freshmen year). That's pretty much unheard of in the military world.