Nate Schneider
Sports Scene
My heart was always set on living in southeast Michigan.
It’s where all the action is, my wife is from the Detroit area and I felt it was going to be in the best interests of my future.
But with all that said, there are plenty of aspects that are missed when away from mid-Michigan.
One such example is that on any Friday night, you could go to any small to medium-sized school in mid-Michigan and find a packed house for a prep football game.
No football program took this to the extreme the way Ithaca did, with seemingly the entire town filling the stands no matter the weather situation or opponent.
Fans would attend games knowing the Yellowjackets would score their six, seven or eight touchdowns in the first half and not provide much at all in the way of suspense.
But equipped with a beautiful football stadium and an elite football team, the Ithaca faithful are among the most ardent supporters of any program in the entire state.
That has been evident every time the Yellowjackets have made the trek to the Division 6 state championship game at Ford Field, seven times to be exact since 2010.
Although Ithaca could not manufacture a sixth state title as it lost 40-27 to Jackson Lumen Christi, the diehard Yellowjackets fans once again made the two-hour drive to Detroit in droves Friday afternoon.
As is usually the case when Ithaca plays at Ford Field, its fans could be seen a sea of white Ithaca t-shirt behind the Yellowjackets sideline.
They were loud, proud and once again the best fans possible of a small town football powerhouse.