It’s here.

We are, of course, talking about football season.

We can smell it now.

Those hot dogs, hamburgers, boiled peanuts and other various and sundry treats that go along with sitting down for an inexpensive night’s entertainment, as we cheer our students on while they advance the pigskin for the good of the school.

Another year, with new sports stars yet to be realized, and goals that are yet only aspirations and dreams.

There are the bands, finely polished and tuned up for the opening, with the National Anthem, and the flag squads, majorettes, twirlers, and don’t forget those cheerleaders; every different venue of talent deserves equal mention, for the students in each must maintain good academic stature before they considered for the extracurricular aspects of school life.

But the students and coaches are not the only ones who should be graced with the obligatory honorable mentions, the parents and volunteers (some of which do not even have school-age children, and others with no children at all) that support the student efforts, and make up the backbone of the school programs.

If you think about it, without the athletic associations in each school, and the band boosters, parent-teacher associations, and other variously-named groups, the students might just as well be anywhere else, because there would be no financial support for the programs.

It is the parents that take part in the fundraiser projects that pay for uniforms, travel expenses, equipment, instruments, and anything else that falls under the category of “extracurricular,” meaning simply, anything that does not involve the three R’s: readin’, ritin’ and ‘rithmetic.

But in order for any of this to take place, there must be fans willing to invest a little of their time and pocket change for the kids.

If you aren’t doing anything more than buying a gate admission to the game and a cold drink, you are supporting the team. It is these contributions exchanged for the entertainment that keep the lights on, the colors in the uniforms bold, and the gleam in all of our proud children’s eyes brightly shining.

So, what do you say, don’t you think it is time you came out and supported the future of the students of tomorrow? Remember, students maintain good grades to stay in these extracurricular programs, and those same programs can earn them scholarships toward the furtherance of their education after high school.