Friday Night Lights: An excitement that surrounds Friday night football games in high schools under the bright lights of a football field. An orthodox staple of high schools in America. Going to high school football games is a typical fall social activity that unifies student bodies and promotes school spirit; however, at Lake Forest Academy, with no Friday Night Lights or football, generating school spirit and amalgamation has been difficult.
Lack of school spirit at LFA has been an ongoing issue and complaint from the students; school spirit significantly declined from the years following the cut of LFA’s football team, according to multiple students. Fall of 2019 was the last year LFA’s football team was in place. Remnants of the football team include the football field on campus, photographs in Old Crown and the widely acknowledged picture on Pinterest of an LFA football player. Students recall LFA alumni speaking excitedly and enthusiastically about the old football team, saying Friday Night Lights was the highlight of the week during the fall.
LFA’s football team was cut after 2019 because of multiple injuries and not enough experienced football players. Although LFA is known for its academic excellence and international student body, cutting its football team harmed school spirit, connections to other local high schools and having a memorable American high school experience.
Having the ability to showcase international celebrations and various cultures is something that is very special and specific to LFA; however, many LFA students are proud of their American culture as well and highly enjoy showing their patriotism through supporting the NFL, NBA and celebrating traditional American holidays. Cutting the football team caused less American students to showcase their culture since their nation’s sport is not even portrayed at their high school.
It is unclear if LFA will have a football team again, but if we want LFA to be a fun high school experience, we must show up. We must show up for our friends, our peers and strangers. We must support ‘Dear Old LFA’ in all ways: hockey games, choir concerts, club fundraisers and more. Let’s bring back the old LFA school spirit we’ve all heard about and are excited to experience. After all, it’s not the place that makes the people, but the people that make a place special.