[Cynette]

I'm not sure if the hype is bad if it translates to a positive school spirit and identity. Our school could use a heaping dose of spirit.

Football in this area doesn't seem to get the hype it does in other areas of the country. Many of the teams don't have lighted fields so the games are played Saturday afternoons and don't have the draw of a Friday night game. I remember it being the social event of the week when I was in high school, but I don't think either of my kids has gone to a single football game (one graduated, one is a senior) at this high school.

We had a vote this year for school facility improvements including a new football field with "astroturf," and a new running track. It failed miserably, the taxpayers felt academics was still the most important part of a school building. So it's not completely out of control. But top notch facilities do entice top notch homeowners and businesses to locate themselves in that community, which leads to a wider tax base and a more vibrant town or city. This also entices the groups that give scholarships to students to check out this school, because we've heard good thing about it which benefits more than just the football players. That's why the hype of a football team may be important to the whole area.

On the poster concept...Several of the Varsity teams at Penfield produce poster / team calendars to sell to raise funds. They almost all have some sort of theme to make them less "jock-y," and sort of in the macho pin-up style. I find them quite humorous. I almost think there is a judging of the posters, because I vaguely remember one of the teams winning something in the newspaper for their poster.