Almost Friday- Reagan vs. Davie

Marching orders have been given, cameras recharged and research begun as Finally Friday! heads to Pfafftown for this week's game between the Reagan Raiders and Davie War Eagles.  This is technically my second trip to Reagan, the first being their week one trouncing of the Glenn Bobcats.  At the time, however, there was no blog and @FinallyFri336 was mere hours old.  I also had the privilege of seeing the Raiders on my second trip to North Davidson a couple of weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

ND vs Reagan Pregame

Pop Quiz- Allie Hopkins

I'm.  Exhausted.  I was at the stadium tonight at 6:30 to start my coverage of tonight's game between East Forsyth and Glenn.  It's now 1 in the morning- Suddenly Saturday.  Why am I up?  Well, because the East Forsyth Senior Class Grand Poobah sent me the answers to her Pop Quiz!  Tonight's contestant continues our streak of stellar participants, and she did a great job answering the questions.  I even gave her a chance to get back at our participant from Glenn.

Ed. Note:  Hannah, I really love coming to your school but East is going to do very bad things to your football team this year.  You're not the only one, so don't feel bad.

Anyhoo, this week turned into an Eastfest, so the only proper way to close it out is to introduce you to my new friend, Allie Hopkins!

1.     Identify yourself! Name, school, age and class please!

Allie Hopkins, East Forsyth High School, 17, SENIOR!

2.     What is your claim to fame? What do you do? (Sports, clubs, class offices, etc.)

I guess my claim to fame would be mainly through athletics and also through class office. I have been playing Varsity soccer since freshman year and I also played Varsity basketball. I wasn’t involved in the class office until this year where I am the Senior Class President! It’s so much fun and I’m involved in practically everything so I get to meet a lot of students, which helps.

3.     Back when I was in high school, my classmates failed to see my awesomeness so I never held a class office.  Tell us what Student Body President entails.

I had to work hard to help everyone see my awesomeness; it took a lot of campaigning! Student Body President has many jobs but my favorite would have to be doing the announcements every day after school, mainly because I get out of class early! I’m also in charge of senior deans and all the projects associated with it such as Blood Drives and Date Auction. Another duty I had was to decide the senior spirit wear which was also fun. I got us sunglasses this year! Finally, every Thursday afternoon I collaborate with the Captain of the super fans, Will Taylor to send out “Alert Now” messages which are recordings that go to every student’s home encouraging them to come out and support the Eagle athletics.

4.     What makes East Forsyth special to you?  Why does it stand out?
There are so many things about East Forsyth that are special to me. I love everything about it.  We
have a great student body, great teachers and administrators and just a great atmosphere in general. No
one likes school but we make the best of it! One thing that stands out to me is the support we get from
our principal. Mrs. Gainey supports our school spirit (as long as we follow the rules of course) and
even stands up to parents when they get annoyed with us standing and being loud. It’s great to know
that even your principal has school spirit and has your back.

5.     One Direction or Justin Bieber?

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of either. Unlike most girls, I don’t have Bieber Fever and I’m not big on One Direction either. Most people think I’m crazy for it, but I guess I’m just not into that.

6.     I gave our participant from Glenn a chance to talk a little friendly junk.  In the interest of fairness, give me three reasons why East Forsyth is better than Glenn.

East Forsyth is all around 100 times better then Glenn, I don’t even know where to start. Our athletics are clearly better, our academics are better, our school is a family, our faculty rocks, we have more school spirit, and we have a better president! With the evidence presented, you can see that obviously the Eagles are better than the bobcats in every way you look at it. GO EAGLES!

7.     I covered the game at Mount Tabor a couple of weeks ago.  I certainly didn’t expect the stands to be full, especially full of students.  You guys travel pretty well!  Expound on your student section a little.

We take our student section at East Forsyth very seriously and we are very proud of it. We call our section the “Super Fans” and being a super fan is truly a lifestyle. We tailgate before every game which includes food, corn hole and pictures! We pick a theme every week and in order to stand in the Super Fan Section, you must be dressed up accordingly! We think it’s important to support our eagles no matter what, even if this means a road trip! There is nothing we love more than supporting our Eagle Athletics but our favorite is definitely the Friday Night Football!

8.     I’m guessing as President you have some idea of your future.  What are your plans after high school? (College, professional ambition, etc.)

I’m actually still trying to figure that out myself. I would love to play college soccer and that is my goal. I’m a hard worker so I do see that happening in my future. As for my professional ambition, I want to be lawyer! It will be a lot of work but I’m up for the challenge!

9.     I Googled “Allie Hopkins”.  Every article I saw mentioned you scoring goals!  How do you think playing team sports has helped you developed as a person and a leader?  

Playing sports has had a huge impact on the person I am today. Leadership generally comes natural to me and sports have helped me develop it into something positive. I’ve learned a lot about communication and teamwork, two vital aspects of life. Sports have also made me competitive and passionate, I love to win! I don’t know where or who I would be without athletics and that’s for sure!

Well, thank you, Allie!  What a great way to finish off a Football Friday! 
Want to do the Pop Quiz?  Know someone who should?  Stay tuned to the blog to find out where I'll be next!

Pop Quiz! Hannah Forbes- Glenn High

Because of my documented navigational skills, I arrived in Kernersville last night with a laundry list of things to accomplish.  However, my priority was to find a worthy subject to represent Glenn High in a Pop Quiz.  I figured it was only fair, since Paige Johnson of West just knocked hers out of the park and represented her school extremely well.  So, at halftime I hustled down from the press box to the toga-clad mass of Glenn students and asked a simple question:

"Who's running this show?"

After some stammering, hemming and hawwing multiple voices started crying "Hannah, Hannah, Hannah."  I think the poor soul thought she was in trouble.  After I explained what the Pop Quiz was all about, she readily agreed.  She even called me "Sir".  I knew immediately that this would be good.  She didn't disappoint.

To put it in the dialect of my rural Southern ancestors, the girl done BROUGHT IT.  Ladies and gentlemen, Hannah Forbes! 

1)     Identify yourself! Name, school, age and class please!

Hannah Forbes, Glenn High School, 17, and Senior!

2)     What is your claim to fame? What do you do? (Clubs, activities, class offices, etc.)

I play volleyball and soccer, as well as swim for Glenn. I also am secretary of the Leo Club, and participate in Key Club, Elite Ladies, National Honor Society, and Academic Team.

3)     Tell me about Glenn High.  What makes it special to you?

Glenn is special to me mostly because of the people. We are kind of a melting pot because we’ve got so many different types of people and I think it makes for a pretty unique bunch. For the most part, the students and staff are really caring and quick to reach out and offer a helping hand. Additionally, I love the school itself. A lot of renovations or projects have been completed since my freshman year. It has been really cool to the see the positive changes. Whenever people ask me where I go, I’m always proud to say Glenn High School.

4)     I pulled up to the game tonight and you and your classmates are all wearing Togas…um, so what other themes has the student body done, and who comes up with them?

Ha-Ha! This season, the themes we have done thus far are orange and blue tie-dye and neon night. In previous years we have done everything from Indian night (when we play the Southwest Cowboys) to 80’s night.  Normally the seniors discuss what theme we should do each week and we have a twitter (@GHS-hooligans) that we post them on!

5)     Complete this sentence:  This season, I want our football team to beat _________ more than anything.

EAST FORSYTH…of course!

6)     Quick, off the top of your head: One Direction or Justin Bieber?

Hmm…One Direction!

7)     Trash talk time…give me three reasons your school is better all-around than East Forsyth.

1)     Sportsmanship. Last year during football season, a prank war between East and Glenn got pretty dirty. Even though Glenn was not completely innocent, no one from Glenn did permanent and expensive damage to any part of East Forsyth. Also, having played volleyball and soccer against East I’ve learned…Eagles and their Eagle parents can be pretty mean sometimes!

2)     Academics. I feel like is East is constantly ONLY talking about their sports teams. For example, how good their football team is, or the baseball team, the basketball team or their bowling team. You get my point. The reality is there is so much more to high school than just sports. Glenn has so much talent in our chorus, band, drama department, ROTC, dance movement, as well as a ton of kids with academic talent and a great desire to learn. Granted, I’ve obviously never taken a class at East Forsyth, but at Glenn I have never had a bad teacher. Last year as the dates of AP Exams were drawing closer and closer, all of my AP teachers either came in early or stayed late to hold review sessions for their students. This dedication is shown by all teachers, not just those that teach AP courses. Like I said earlier, the faculty at Glenn really does care about each and every student.

3)     Parking. If you’ve ever been to East, you know what a pain it is that after you finally find the school, tucked amidst a winding road and multiple entrances, you have to park on the top of a hill and walk down to the school or stadium. An added bonus is if you get to make the trek in the rain!

4)     I’m sorry but I came up with one more reason, and I think it’s a pretty big one. Does East Forsyth have its own water tower? ;)

8)     Back to the togas.  You guys wore togas on the hottest night of the season so far.  I take it there was no Plan B?

It’s funny that you ask this question, after the game I mentioned to some other students that toga night may be one of the worst ideas we’ve had in a while. By halftime I was drenched in sweat, and my toga was not cooperating. I was beginning to wish we would have gone with the “Scuba Night” theme proposed by fellow senior Cary Shields (Even though it was ridiculous and probably would have been difficult to execute.) It wasn’t until everyone started getting ready for the game that we realized no one really knew how to make a decent toga, but by then it was too late to change the theme. Nonetheless, we all had a good time and a good turnout!

9)     What are your plans after high school? (College, professional ambition, etc.)

I’m not exactly sure where I want to go to school next year but some possibilities are Syracuse University, UNCW, and Carolina. Even though it has changed multiple times throughout high school, I’ve narrowed my major down to three options: Criminology, Communications, or Environmental Science. No matter what profession I end up choosing, I just really hope that I will be helping people and learning new things. I want to LOVE what I do, no matter how long I do it for.

10)  Finally, what would you tell a first-time visitor to a Glenn football game to look for?

I would tell a first-time visitor to look for a little bit of everything. Our drum line performs towards the end of halftime, and they always put a smile on my face, as does the band and dance team!  The cheerleaders never stop working hard doing stunts or cheers to get the crowd involved. Additionally, it’s safe to say if you go to a Glenn football game you have to give the Bobcat a high-five, he’s always around.  The student section is a great place if you’re looking for crazy outfits and even crazier people wearing them! Most importantly however, I would tell someone to buy a cold drink and a hot dog and find a good spot in the stands to watch some of the game. Our football boys work really hard all summer long and continue that hard work every Friday night. They deserve to have us cheering them on whether we are winning or losing.

Well, that was awesome.  Even though I'd be concerned about firing up the undefeated Eagles even more, I admire the fearlessness and confidence!  Thank you, Hannah!

As you can see, our first two Pop Quiz participants are excellent representatives of their school.  Paige and Hannah's answers were very thoughtful and well-written, and I appreciate the effort.  Now, ladies, please stay clear of Senioritis so I can brag on you and say "I met them when..."!

Want to participate in the Pop Quiz?  Know someone who should?  Check back often to see where I'll be next!

Rookie Mistakes

While I'm sure every fledgling blogger wants to be an instant success, I'm really grateful that no more than five folks are reading my blog thus far.

Why?

I never verified where tonight's game was actually being played.  Really.

I mean, I was prepared.  Media card in a way-too-big laminate, smartphone, HD video camera, everything.   I had even done a feature on the "Home" school.  So, I raced the Deathmobile over to Clemmons so I could be an hour early and soak it all in.

<Crickets>

So, my rustbucket and I have high-tailed it over to K-Vegas and I sit here in the cool comfort of the press box, beside a REAL sportswriter from the Journal.

At least they have complimentary drinks. Fail.

Officially Official

The kind folks over at the NCHSAA saw fit to give my fledgling enterprise a little more access to their product, so Finally Friday!  is now "legit".  Hopefully this will help reduce the number of confused looks on support staff faces when I explain who I am and what I'm doing.

We'll give the Magic Media Pass its first run tomorrow night, when I cover West Forsyth and Glenn live from Clemmons.  I envision it going something like this: