Executive Producer Benjamin Parris shares his thoughts on the week that was
Never in my four years of attending Cherry Creek or in my almost 18-years of growing up in the Cherry Creek community have I witnessed the scene I saw on Friday night. The amount of people sporting red for the "red out" cheering at the top of their lungs was simply a spectacle as I looked on from the press box.
Yes, football season has returned. But Friday night's home opener for Cherry Creek football was undoubtedly more than a football game for every single person in attendance. Of course wins and losses matter at Cherry Creek, I'd be lying if I said they didn't, but I'm confident in saying that if the Bruins were on the other side of their 31-0, shutout victory over Pomona, I would feel the exact same way about what occurred in the Stutler Bowl.
The amount of people who attended the Spirit Night festivites and attended the game put into perspective what it means to be a Cherry Creek Bruin. Being a Bruin is a lot more than what happens between 8:00 and 3:30 everyday, it's really what happens before and after school, day in and day out.
Following the girls volleyball game on Tuesday against Ponderosa, Senior Natalia Landry told me the next morning that it was impossible to hear head coach Steve Huntingdale in the huddle during timeouts and not even Coach Huntingdale cared. It was clear to him and all of his players that having such a passionate fanbase was infinitely better than him getting his point across to those on the court.
It was a similar story when the team traveled to Valor Christian on Thursday night. Playing a rival in their home gym is always a daunting task, but when you add fans into the equation (which we clearly couldn't last season), it can be enough to even the playing field.
It's clear that the student body, and particularly the senior class, are eager to go to as many events as they can this year after they were kept out for a majority of last year. They don't care what sport or what time the game is, you know that they're going to show up and get loud.
I think we can expect to see this theme all year long. Whether it be football and volleyball right now, basketball in the winter, or lacrosse in the spring, there's going to be scenes at Cherry Creek events that you'll have to be there to believe. Memories will be made in this 2021-22 school year that will be talked about for a very long time. We won't remember the results or opponents of games, we'll remember how happy we were just to be there.
Have a good weekend,
Ben Parris
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