Watching our varsity Bulldogs move up in the playoffs has given Harrisburg the chance to show off our small-town spirit over the last couple of weeks. Our town has come together as a community to show our love and support for the Bulldogs this season. Though, on paper, it says that our Dogs lost during the quarterfinal game, this season was a win.
Bulldog pride isn’t something that comes only when our teams are winning; as a community, we are proud to be Bulldogs win or lose. And our team has shown a great deal of sportsmanship to other teams this year. This has given us extra fans from other towns showing their support for our players.
Even during the quarterfinal game, there were several instances of personal fouls from the other team, but there were zero from the Bulldog players. This was even after the other school had made fun of some of the Bulldog players, making videos and voice-overs to mock our team before the game. There was no retaliation for this act during the game from our boys; they played a very clean game. Not only does this show the level of maturity of our players, but it also shows their passion and respect for the game itself.
There are so many people behind a Harrisburg football game who are involved in bringing us all together– the players, coaches, cheerleaders, band members, ticket-takers, concession stand workers, custodians, and fans. These are the people who make us proud to wear purple and white. Everyone takes part in coming together like this, even the children at BELA, East Side, West Side, and Middle School. These students made posters, and signs, and even drew pictures of the Bulldog football team and players and put them inside the locker room to bring extra encouragement and support to the varsity Bulldogs.
There are so many things that our school does during the football season to get our community involved. At the beginning of the season, the football players and cheerleaders host a community night. This is a big outreach to interact with the other schools in our district and get to talk to and play around with their students. The football and cheerleading teams also go to these buildings and host pep rallies. They do cheers and chants to make these students feel a part of Bulldog Nation. Our team is full of true role models. They go to these schools knowing that all that these little Bullpups want to be when they grow up is high school Bulldogs, whether it be football, cheerleading, band, or other sports and activities.
The support coming from social media was huge. There were posts by players and fans sharing their love for the sport, their love for the town, and their love for the Bulldogs. It’s easy to say we are extremely proud to be a part of something that means so much to people. Football games are a big part of what keeps our small town together, but it’s the spirit of the people on the field, sidelines, or the stands that makes us Bulldog Nation.
