Friday Night Lights

Tonight I am going with my daughter to her high school's football game. This may not sound blog worthy, but I am already getting a chuckle out of the event. "Why?" you may ask; well because I grew up here in Roseville.

Granted, I am a transplant from another northern California location (that is a WHOLE different topic,) but we moved here when I was just 13, and I fell in love with (at the time) the little city that is Roseville. The people are friendly and I instantly felt like I was "HOME." At the time I moved here there was 1 junior high school and 2 high schools.

As an eighth grade student I attended Warren T. Eich Junior High School. And, even though I was a "newby" I never felt like an outsider, and I quickly discovered that all though every one was friends on campus, there were imaginary battle lines drawn --- between the rival high schools.

You were either:

a Roseville Tiger or;
an Oakmont Viking .....

I was a Roseville Tiger (graduating class of 1985)

I was totally proud of those Tiger roots and vowed that no child of mine would ever be a Viking. When my husband and I were looking at places to live, I very carefully reviewed boundary lines, researched the elementary schools and (the now 3, or is it 4? ) junior high schools in the City School District, and compared notes on the schools (there are now 4) in the Roseville High School Joint Union High School District.

Then it happened. I found a house I knew I wanted to live in, and it was inside the boundary lines of Oakmont High School. Manda was only 11 months at the time, so I figured that I had four years in which to fall out of love with my house and MOVE to the other side of the district so that she could go to school with other future Tigers.

Well, so much for that plan! Manda started elementary school at Crestmont Elementary and loved being a Coyote.

Then she moved on to Warren T. Eich Middle School, where she found her personal stride as a WILDCAT. She was on the Flag/Drill team for one year, and the next year she was the proud editor of the WILDCAT yearbook. It was really cool to have Manda attending a school that I had also attended. A few of the same teachers are still there (or involved in the school board.)

Last year Manda became a very proud freshman at OHS. Yes, she is a Viking! And, yes, she is a PROUD royal blue wearing, Oakmont Viking. Both of our cars have the Oakmont "O" on them, and her school spirit is only overshadowed by her school involvement. She participates in "A" Teens, Link Crew, Teens for Humanity, Mock Trial and several others that I can not remember.

So tonight, we will attend the OHS vs RHS football game at Roseville High School. We will sit on the visitors side, and I will cheer loudly for the VIKINGS ("Here Kitty-Kitty, Here Kitty-Kitty, Here Kitty-Kitty ~ SMACK!)~ because I am a proud parent of a wonderful Oakmont Viking -----

yea .... never say never --- it always comes back to bite ya!