Spirit to spare: Senior Elena Groeschen shares her school pride
Neon green, hot pink, vibrant orange and glow-in-the-dark yellow: Bright colors popped from the stands as the Quakers faced off against the Greenwood Woodmen for the Homecoming Game.
The vibe at the game was electric. But it was not the only thing charged up.
Enter senior Elena Groeschen wearing her custom-made cowboy hat.
“For every home game, I have made a sparkly cowboy hat to fit the theme,” said Groeshen. “Each one is a little different, and they are all different colors. My hat for HoCo was neon pink with two different types of pink sparkles.”
And the hat was just the start.
“I dress up for all of the games,” she explained. “I guess that I decided to do so much for the Homecoming game because it is the most important game of the year. Also, it was a fun theme, and participating in the dress-up days all week made me excited for the last one of the week.”
Groeschen was one of hundreds of students who went all-out -- dressing up, making posters, painting their faces and screaming until they were hoarse to show their support for the Quakers. “My favorite part was the student section,” said Groeschen. “It was so fun to see everyone supporting the football team. I also loved how many people participated in the theme. It was so cool that people brought vests, glowsticks, paints and poppers to share with everyone. Everyone was just having a great time.”
She added, “This year, especially at home games, our student section has been pretty full, which is awesome. I think people are just excited to get back to some normalcy. I think what made the Homecoming game different was that you could feel everyone on edge rooting for the Quakers. It was a super cool dynamic, and everyone was able to feed off of each other’s energy.”
That energy spiralled off of the crowd and onto the field, boosting the team as they defeated the Woodmen, 31 to 28. “I think that having an active student section really does help the team,” said Groeschen. “I 100% believe that the players on the field feed off of the energy that the crowd -- mostly the student section -- gives them.”
And just like other games, fans stayed and cheered -- hoping for a Homecoming win, but there for the team regardless of the final score. “We have a pretty great student section this year,” she explained. “So many students stay till the end of every game and support our team, no matter what.”
The victory was the icing on the cake for Groeschen and her fellow students, who hung around after the game to congratulate the players on the win. A full week of dress-up days, the parade and carnival, and a dance on Saturday evening, Homecoming Week allowed Groschen to showcase her school spirit. “I don’t know if I have the most school spirit out of every person at PHS. I think that there are a lot of people at our school that have a lot of school spirit,” she said. “I think that I do have a lot of school spirit though, for more than just football, but for all that PHS is. I have school pride. School spirit is important to me because it just makes the environment more fun, and it makes my high school years memorable.”
Story by Connor Burress