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<\/a>Yes, my husband was awake!<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Our recent trip to Colorado was highlighted by a high school football game, which, I have to say, is miles apart from a pro game.\u00a0 Better<\/em> miles.\u00a0 And, no, the Sparrow Brothers Fine School of Football Forecasting<\/strong> did not bet on this game.\u00a0 So, yeah, we won. \u00a0But more on that later.\u00a0 We love to visit our family in the Denver suburbs and especially loved seeing the trees begin to turn and just a hint of fall in the air.\u00a0 A small hint, since most days were in the mid-80’s but it still beat the muggy warmth of Scottsdale.\u00a0 Denver, as you may have read, is a booming city.\u00a0 So much so that they have now adopted an anti-California attitude<\/strong> that stems from all the Golden State refugees that have flooded the housing and job markets.\u00a0 Like in all other instances, the Californicators have driven up both wages and housing prices which has resulted in a bit of resentment from the native Coloradans.\u00a0 But the growth has also spurred the resurgence of downtown Denver into a bustling place filled with great restaurants, new office and condo buildings and entertainment centers.\u00a0 No place better exemplifies that than Union Station.<\/strong>\u00a0 Once forgotten in the age of suburbs and cars, Union Station’s 100 year-old building was remodeled and extended in 2014.\u00a0 It is now the hub for Denver’s light rail, Amtrak, the city bus service and even Uber.\u00a0 Its magnificent interior gives one the feeling of being in a mid-twentieth century train station, complete with dark wooden benches, elegant chandeliers and soaring marble columns.\u00a0 Yet from this nostalgic setting one can easily walk to Coors Field to catch at Rockies game or to Pepsi Center to watch a concert, the Nuggets or the Avalanche.\u00a0 Even Mile High Stadium is only a 15 minute drive away.\u00a0 The restaurants in the area are plentiful and good.\u00a0 Union Station is also home to one of the last remnants of civilization – the Tattered Cover Book Store.<\/strong><\/p>\n Thursday Night Lights<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n But our real reason for coming to Colorado in September was to watch our grandson in a high school football game.<\/strong>\u00a0 He is a senior this year so this was our last chance to see him in uniform.\u00a0 His team, Cherry Creek<\/strong>, is ranked #102 in the nation and thus far are undefeated on the season.\u00a0 Their quarterback, Alex Padilla, has already signed at University of Iowa and is someone to watch.\u00a0 I haven’t attended a high school football game since the 1980’s and I had forgotten what a magical experience it is.\u00a0 Wooden benches, parents volunteering to staff the concession stand, cheerleaders, the marching band, and my favorite, the baton twirler<\/strong>.\u00a0 Right off I was struck by the differences between high school football and college\/pro games.\u00a0 First, no one kneeled during the national anthem.\u00a0 Second, the fans sit on different sides of the field.\u00a0 This is huge.\u00a0 It means that you don’t have some yahoo from the opposing team<\/strong> yelling in your ear or taunting your team’s every dropped pass or missed field goal.\u00a0 Third, there is no alcohol on the premises (except that smuggled in by weary parents or clever students).\u00a0 So in addition to not having the opponent’s greatest fan next to you, he is also not burping or throwing up all over you.\u00a0 The bright lights, the youthful enthusiasm and a big win (49-7 and it wasn’t that close) made for a evening we’ll never forget.<\/p>\n Grandpa with Matthew after the game<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n But mostly, we’ll never forget how excited our grandson was<\/strong> to make a few plays and relish a big win.\u00a0 We know that it was important to him to play because we were visiting.\u00a0 Frankly, we didn’t care.\u00a0 We just wanted to see him on the team, enjoying the camaraderie<\/strong> of his fellow athletes and reveling, as only high school students can, in a huge victory.\u00a0 We walked away with a great feeling about the school, not only the football team, but the diversity of the cheerleaders, band members and pom girls.\u00a0 Everyone was encouraged to participate.\u00a0 It was a long way from the old days when only the most popular kids got to partake in that fun.\u00a0 To add an even more poignant meaning to the night,<\/strong> all of the kids were wearing orange shirts or ribbons in tribute to one of the pom girls who is fighting leukemia.\u00a0 It was heart warming to see all the support she received from her peers.\u00a0 I read a lot of criticism about the “kids of today” but anyone who believes that will get an argument from me.\u00a0 What I experienced was a great group of kids – caring, fun and determined.\u00a0 I think we’re in good hands.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson Our recent trip to Colorado was highlighted by a high school football game, which, I have to say, is miles apart from a pro game.\u00a0 Better miles.\u00a0 And, no, the Sparrow Brothers Fine School of Football … read more![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/2018-09-20-19.57.30-300x169.jpg\")
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