The 2024 Thanksgiving Game is not only a tradition but a great rivalry. High School North and South students, parents, alumni, and staff never fail to pack the stands every year, decked out in their respective colors cheering their team to hopeful victory. It’s a Thanksgiving tradition that everyone looks forward to and a memorable day for the Middletown community. Middletown South has won the last 8 games they have played. This year  the Middletown High School South football team came out with a hard fought win in the rain 32-23. The team battled exceptionally well to come out on top. This was an unexpected win from South, as North had won the Shore Conference, but South managed to keep the winning streak alive. 

As a South cheerleader, I knew we were going to win Thanksgiving despite going in with a record of 4 wins and 7 losses. A few days before the game, I randomly checked the weather for that day, and, when I saw the rain in the forecast, my heart dropped. From the end of October to the end of November, we had practice  everyday from 2:30 till 5:30, sometimes till 6:00. In the rain we can’t stunt or do jumps, we can still perform the routine, but it’s not the same. 

That whole week before the game we were all praying it wasn’t going to rain. On Thanksgiving morning I woke up, went outside and it wasn’t just raining, it was pouring. That’s when I knew it was gonna be a long morning. After all the things we did before we went outside to cheer the football team, we got to show the North cheer team our full routine, and they got to show us their’s. We went outside, and the game began. 

Within the first 10 minutes of the game my entire body was soaking wet. My feet became numb from my cheer shoes, which are not meant for the rain. My hands were freezing and turning pruney. The rain only got worse. When it was time to perform our halftime routine, we were told to just do the dances, no stunts or jumps. As the announcer called us in we ran onto the field. The music started, and it began. 

The moments I was on the ground my entire body was getting soaked. My knees were sitting in water, my hands freezing as they too were soaked in water. As the routine went on, as much as I didnt like it, I accepted the weather for what it was, and, pushing it from my mind, I took that chance to make the routine the best it could be. After all, as a junior, I only have one more Thanksgiving left at South. Towards the end of the game we were winning and the rain was kinda stopping. The feeling of no rain never felt so good. In the end all the complaints, pruney fingers, and numb feet became worth it because we won the game. South’s streak still continues until next year.