CODY ROGERS
I’ve been to countless sporting events and movies in my life, and easily the biggest difference maker in how enjoyable it is the environment in which it happens.
Some of my favorite experiences ever have happened in those settings. The first two that come to mind are having a front row seat at the battery pavilion a few months ago watching Adam Duvall hit a grand slam in Game 5 of the World Series with 100,000 other fans losing their minds.
The second happened in 2020 when I went to see Avengers: Endgame – a movie that had been 12 years in the making that I had been waiting a very long time for – at the very first possible moment that I could.
Inside a packed movie theater, I cheered and lost my mind at multiple moments in the movie just like everyone else and it was honestly one of the more fun moments in my life.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget sitting beside what I assumed were a couple high schoolers on a date. I felt for the kid as he sobbed and buried his face into the girl’s shoulder as we were leaving.
There’s something special about experiencing something you love with a ton of other people that feel the same way, and while I can’t tell you how Freddie Freeman or Captain America felt when everyone watched their heroics, I know for certain how important it has been for the many ridiculously talented high school athletes that have put on a show for a stadium full of fans.
The latest example of this happened last week when the Habersham Central girls soccer team hosted their round-one game of the state playoffs. I got there around 15 minutes before the Lady Raiders’ match and stood in a line far longer than any I’d ever seen in the many games I’ve attended this season.
After about 60 minutes of consistent cheering, the stadium erupted when Habersham Central junior and goal-scoring phenom Sarah Clark broke the scoreless tie and put the Lady Raiders ahead. They again roared about 20 minutes later when the final whistle sounded, and once more a few minutes after that when the team made their way back up the stands.
In the many games I’ve covered over the last few years, what’s easily impressed me the most is how supportive the community is, and it’s definitely made the easiest of my job responsibilities – getting paid to watch sports – all the more easier.
I’ve been to my fair share of games where 100 percent of the select few in attendance were the parents of one of the players, but that isn’t the case here. More often than not the home games here in Habersham are full of students, coaches like volleyball coach Lindsay Herrin and football coach Benji Harrison, and other members of the community along with the athletes’ parents.
They might not be winning the World Series or stopping an alien invasion, but accomplishing something like a state playoff home game like the girls soccer and basketball teams have done in the past couple years is an incredible achievement, especially in such a difficult region like the one Habersham Central currently competes in. It’s been a joy to see these student-athletes get the recognition and applause they deserve.
Cody Rogers is a staff writer for The Northeast Georgian. Reach him at 706-778-4215 or crogers@TheNortheastGeorgian.com.