Traverse City Record-Eagle

Crosstown Showdown 2009

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  • Jan-Michael Stump

    TC CENTRAL VS TC WEST
October 24, 2009

West, Central fans turn out

TC West, Central fans turn out for big game

BY LINDSAY VANHULLE

TRAVERSE CITY -- At first, the Traverse City Central High School students were going to dress all in white. Then they decided to wear black.

But it was cold Friday night, with a threat of rain. And even under the warm lights of Thirlby Field, they knew they needed more than a simple sweatshirt.

"We switched it to a stay-warm" plan, said Central senior Spencer Trubac, 17, who started tailgating with his classmates -- many in head-to-toe rain gear -- more than three hours before kickoff at the annual rivalry football game against West Senior High.

The possibility of foul weather didn't keep diehard fans away from the annual crosstown matchup, now in its 13th year. The schools meet each October for the last game of the regular season.

"It's more fun when it's wet. It adds to the whole atmosphere," said Greg Brown, 17, a Central senior who attended the tailgate. "The people who really want to be here are here."

For some fans, the rivalry is a deep-seated tradition.

Kathryn Adams' older brothers graduated from Central, one of whom the year the schools split. Her family later moved to the west side of town, where she is now a senior.

"I've grown up here living with this," said Kathryn, 17, dressed, like many of her classmates, in a green T-shirt featuring what is presumably a Trojan sinking in a pool of water. "I like to rub it in their faces when we win."

People began lining up to enter the stadium before 6 p.m., when the two scoreboards began to count down to kickoff.

A Central student shouted "54 minutes" from the bleachers when the clock displayed the numbers, and his classmates cheered.

"The excitement builds. Tonight's the night," said Nancy Kiogima, who volunteers to collect tickets at West home games with her husband, Mel.

Four of their sons played football for West, and a daughter played in the marching band. They said they plan to volunteer for years to come, despite not having any children left at the school.

"It really is just a lot of fun," Kiogima said. "We love the whole atmosphere."

Cory Holman, a senior football player for Central, had his own support team in the stands -- his parents and two sets of grandparents.

His family said they attend as many games as they can. Because he's a senior, this was their last game at Thirlby Field.

"High school football is much more fun than professional," said his grandmother, Bev Loomis. "There's more sportsmanship."

"It's our own kids out there," added Cory's mother, Laurie Holman. "It matters more."

As the bleachers began to fill, West senior Sarah Goudey hoped weather and illness wouldn't keep fans away.

Sarah, 17, wore her younger brother's Pop Warner Titans football jersey and a temporary tattoo of the school's logo on her cheek.

"I know a lot of people over there," she said, looking across the field. "It's nothing against them. It's just bragging rights."

And a little good-natured fun.

The district this week closed two west-side schools -- Blair Elementary and West Middle School -- because of a high number of students reporting flu-like symptoms.

The Central students didn't let their opponents forget it, shouting "H1N1" toward the West student section and clapping their noisemakers.

The West students passed around face masks.

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