Andover/Exeter Day

Andover/Exeter Day. I don’t really know how to describe it. It was, without a doubt, the single greatest display of school spirit that I have ever been a part of. It really wasn’t even just one single day. It started on Friday, the night before the games. I had never been to a pep rally before; my previous school was too small to do such a thing. It had been so hyped up by my friends that I could hardly wait. After my team finished our skit, a splendid rendition of the dance performed in “Old School,” I stood in the stands and soaked the whole spectacle in. After each team had presented their bit, fireworks, set to music, capped off the spectacular evening, exploding over a thousand blue-clad students.

The next day was awe-inspiring. Pulling on my jersey and walking out onto the field with the big blue “A” painted in the center circle as five hundred fans ringed the pitch will go down as one of the most unforgettable moments of my life. The fact that we won seemed almost inconsequential and anticlimactic. Just to be part of the Phillips Academy soccer team made my day.

But you didn’t have to play to be a part of Andover/Exeter. The level of passion exhibited by every member of the PA community was absolutely incredible. Led by the Blue Keys, the PA students painted themselves in the school colors, screamed themselves hoarse, and generally did everything under the sun to will their school’s teams to victory. This effort was echoed by the students from Exeter who traveled to our campus to make their voices heard. No image from the day summed up the spirit of Andover/Exeter better than the view from the grass bank behind the end zone of Phelps Stadium: one side of the stadium was solid blue, the other solid red, both screaming at the top of their lungs, led by their respective Energizer Bunnies jumping up and down on the turf. And I was there with them in this moment of my true integration into the PA community, cheering at the top of my voice, as an Andover student.