Behind the Scenes Football

Behind the Friday night lights

Volunteers work behind-the-scenes on home football games

Sophia Krueger kruegsop000@hsestudents.org

Every year, thousands of football fans gather at Fishers High School’s stadium to watch their team go to battle. With game day festivities beginning at 3 p.m. and lasting into the night, fans can spend their Friday engrossed in football. Without the people working behind-the-scenes, the event is non-existent. Volunteers devote their time through the pregame tailgate to the post-game aftermath. Vice President Joe Dunn of the football booster club, the Gridiron, is one volunteer who devotes his time to game days, starting with the Tiger Town Tailgate. “Thursday night we close off the parking lot so it is reserved for that next day’s home game, and so that we do not have just anybody parking there,” Dunn said. “The [tailgate] setup is between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., so some of us have to get there early to let people in.” The tailgate is a new addition to the game day festivities. According to Dunn, it was started by the Gridiron club to elevate school unity and cultivate a better game day experience. “Once the athletic directors said it was something we could explore, I really focused in on getting our Gridiron board to like the idea; and then going to cheer, band, PTO and those types of groups, to make sure we were working together, and it would be something everybody could rally around,” Dunn said. The club has also worked behind-the-scenes to help the football team and staff be ready on game days. ”Some of the other things that kind of go unnoticed: 150 football players in the program, they eat a lot,” Dunn said. “There are a lot of meals, a lot of snacks, a lot of hydration…there are a lot of Powerades, water, that kind of stuff.” Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) President Sheryl Fox has also worked behind the scenes on the event and volunteers her time at the tailgate by helping with concessions. “Our concessions managers typically show up at about 3 o’clock to start preparations for the home and the away concession stands and we will just start setting up the tables,” Fox said. “Outside there are the coolers that we have to get filled with ice from in the kitchen area, and that is a collective effort.” As a former Gridiron club member herself, Fox said the result of PTO and Gridiron club joining forces to improve the tailgate was exciting. A new tailgate fundraiser was one of the results of this collaboration. “The Gridiron worked with PTO and came up with an idea to provide a special meal deal where you get some type of food and beverage for a special price, and it is going to be offered at a special, different concessions table during the tailgate,” Fox said. When the pre-game festivities are complete, other volunteers help fans into the stadium. FHS front office staff member Lisa Abel has spent the past four years assisting with this process -on the visitor’s sideline. “We use an app called Event Link. The families of the opposite team can go on Event Link and buy the tickets,” Abel said. “If they do not buy the tickets prior to the game there is a QR code that we have sitting out in front of the visitor’s side that they will scan, and they can buy the tickets that way. Or, the ticket takers also have Apple Pay…they can use that to buy a ticket as well.” With the ticket purchasing process taking place solely online, sometimes Abel’s job consists of more than just giving the green light to enter the stadium. “Sometimes [attendees] say they purchased a ticket but then they can not bring it up on the Wi-Fi, or they can not get Wi-Fi out there. With that app, you can look up the name of that person and verify if they already bought tickets,” Abel said. For Abel, the fans are what make the job worth it. For Dunn and Fox, they hope that each of their behindthe-scenes work will continue attracting fans. “For our first home game, to see that there was no room in the stands for anybody else, I can not remember the last time I have seen that,” Fox said. “I think the credit goes to the tailgate and the Gridiron for how they are just really trying to push the community to come together and get school spirit to support the team.”

PTO members prepare to hand out candy to tailgate attendees at the Fishers vs. Noblesville football game on Sept. 2. Photo by Sophia Krueger.