Silence is the loudest scream.

Our fans are as notorious as they come in the state of Washington for providing the most spirit for our teams, but when anyone on the field goes down, we know to seal our lips and be seated instantly. Our football team does the same, but there are those on the field that sprint over to the injured.

Football is infamous for sending our student athletes to the sidelines for the season, and with thousands of dollars in scholarships and a lifetime of physical trauma at stake, each fall and tackle should be treated with grave severity. Liberty football understands the dangers, and whenever an opponent doesn’t immediately get up, our team is there making sure the injured is okay and helping them up, often as quickly as the other team can come to assist.

I have attended every home and away football game for all three years of high school but two. Tensions never grow heated between teams. Arguing with the referees is done cordially, and the players are frequently engaging in small talk as they walk back to their respective huddles.

I am thankful for how skilled our football team is, having gone to the playoffs for all of my high school years and even going so far as State in my freshman year, and everyone appreciates this. What we all need to be thankful for more is a phenomenon about which few other schools can boast: our sportsmanship.