Editor’s note: Enumclaw Middle School students wrote essays about how places around the Plateau shaped their identity. Six essays have been selected to be published in the Courier-Herald at the end of the month, every other month (we were late on this one, which was supposed to be published in September); they have been minimally edited to retain the author’s voice. This is the fifth of the six essays.
I walk up onto the old wooden bleachers of Pete’s Pool and immediately feel a surge of excitement, just like I did when I was a little kid at my brothers games, or at my aunts marching and pep band games. The loud music playing in the background, seeing people arrive to support the Enumclaw Football Team adds to my excitement. As I walk down the aisle of the wooden bleachers, I see the Enumclaw Football Team, preparing to win this game. Further down the bleachers, I see the student section and the cheer team, ready to encourage and cheer on Enumclaw. The student section goes by a spirit wear, one time they dressed pink for breast cancer awareness, and another time they dressed according to the homecoming game. I walk a bit beyond the student’s section of the bleachers, then, I see where I belong, the Enumclaw High School Marching Band.
I get up into my spot in the bleachers, and suddenly, the smell of the food from the concession stands, (which are right next to us) hits me. The smell of the cheesy nachos, the hotdogs, and my personal favorite, the smell of the cheesy and full of tomato sauce pizza. Once and a while, I’ll smell some of the coffee from the Mocha Motion truck.
As I walk, I feel my hard, tight, fabric band uniform brush against my skin, and the screws holding the emblem onto my shako hit my head once and a while, I don’t mind it though. I feel the weight of my Tenor Saxophone in my hand, it’s about 15 pounds and it’s heavy if you’ve had it on for a while. I can also feel the cool, sometimes warm air, brush against my face and hands.
We start playing “Go U Northwestern” which is the song for when we get a touchdown. I hear a bunch of instruments, the saxophones are perfectly in sync, the high-pitched flutes, a piccolo that’s higher pitched than the flutes, low clarinets, drums beating along making our rhythm, and sometimes a few trombones. We sound amazing. I can hear the crowd cheering, laughing, and having fun. During halftime, they start playing Sweet Caroline. Everyone holds each other’s shoulders and sways back and forth while singing. During the “Bah Bah Bah!” They pause it so we can sing it. And now, it’s our time on the field. We go out during halftime to play Don’t Stop Believin’.
We come onto the field from the back, while the drums play the cadence. The march is very short, but fun. Sometimes, after halftime during the 3rd quarter, one of the moms of the band students brings us something to eat! Most times it is pizza, I can already taste the savory, tomato sauce, firm bread, and the cheezy surface.
It is finally the end of the game. I pack up my stuff, grab my saxophone, say goodbye, and take a look at the place, everyone is on the field, it looks like a huge pool of people. Not a lot of people are in the bleachers, only a few. I meet up with my parents at the mocha motion truck, and we leave. This is Enumclaw. This is home.
