Waking up, eating breakfast, brushing your teeth, changing for school, packing your backpack, driving to school: all a part of your average school day.  But for many VHS athletes, the routine changes when IT’S GAME DAY BABY!

Game day is usually a couple times a week for each sport, or just the weekend for football, and every sport has its own traditions. These traditions vary, but VHS athletes report that these are some common ones, and they are steeped in superstition:

• Wearing your team’s apparel to school.
• Wearing the same undergarments as the last game.
• Wearing the same headband or pre-wrap.
• Getting taped by Jay.
• Eating the same meal you ate last time before a game that you won.
• Going to Bagelwich to get a pre-game meal.
• Eating breakfast with the team.
• Posting an Instagram on your team’s account.
• Posting a Snapchat story reminding everyone it’s game day.
• Posting a Snapchat story with the other teams Geotag.
• Listening to the same pre-game playlist.
• Sitting at the same seat on the bus with the same person/people.
• Driving with the same people every time to the game.
• Parking in the same spot in the lot.
• Doing the exact same warm-up.

Each grade has their different perspectives on Game Day and traditions. As a freshman, it’s your first time playing a team and you’re learning the Game Day rituals, which is exciting.  But as a senior, it’s more likely than not your last time playing the sport, which means the last time playing your biggest rivals that you’ve battled since freshman year. When it comes to playing rivals, freshman, sophomore and junior years are just battles.  Senior year is the War.