MNN - Mother Nature Network

Perhaps nothing can end this photo encapsulation of the fall season better than that all-American sport: football. And this is not just any ordinary Friday night high school football game. This is the game of the year, the traditional Branding Iron game played between two rival high schools. Of course I must be there to cheer on my school team!

 

It is not this intense rivalry of the game that I think characterizes fall so well but rather the spirit of camaraderie that flows freely through the bleachers (among your own team at least!). Huddled together Friday night, forming one slightly warmer pack in the crisp night air, we overflowed with exuberance and pride and a sense of belonging to a greater whole.

 

The crowning glory of the evening? I must admit that watching my school team carry back the Branding Iron, hearing the erupting cheers, and nearly losing my voice from all that happy screaming was a lovely way to end the night. Sigh ... how much I love fall!