by Malcom Cawthorne

I was feeling quite nostalgic over the Thanksgiving Day weekend. I was thinking about the Thanksgiving Day football game against our rival, Newton North, and what it means to my family and me, partly because of the traditions my family has and my experiences in Brookline, but mostly because of the 25th anniversary of my graduation from the class of 1988. I came to think more deeply about this experience and its relationship to the Powder Puff game.

I went to my first Thanksgiving Day game in 1981 as a 6th grader to see Brookline upset a then-undefeated Newton North team. I remember the packed crowd at Parsons Field, the mohawk haircuts of the Brookline players and, along with my brother, wanting to perform in such an environment.

In high school, my brother and I both played in the Thanksgiving Day game. I can remember that frozen November morning where we beat Newton North 7-0 amidst the rain, sleet and snow. My brother and I proudly boast a 4-1 record as a playing family from 1985-1989 and nothing is more memorable than being on the same team as him and winning 35-20 in 1987.

I also coached in the game four times to a not-so-great record of 1-3 from 2002-05. However, I have fond recollections of the joy on my players’ faces on that warm November morning in 2003 after a 21-15 victory.

I also remember when Powder Puff first started in 1998. It was played on Cypress Field right after the pep rally. Students were referees and there was not much promotion for the game; the girls ordered t-shirts and played with limited coaching or practice. Later, I was an assistant coach for Dave Ford’s Powder Puff team for the “Red” class of 2002. I spent a lot of time teaching the great English teacher Sarah Kornell “rip and swim” techniques on the defense while Ford masterminded our vertical offense.

I also have two daughters who played in the game: Nia, a senior, and Mariah ‘10. I watched the class of 2014 upset the seniors last year; that was my first time attending a game since 2001.

I truly love the steps this game made this year where the girls and the school made a positive contribution to a women’s issue in society and donated to charity. I also love how the two classes collaborated with each other.

To see girls from the classes of 2014 and 2015 present a donation to fight breast cancer and play with pink wristbands was highly inspirational and motivating. It reminded me of the greatness of Brookline students and the ideals of the Brookline community. Moreover, I am impressed that for the past few years the girls have come back to the school to clean up the mess in the wake of the game; this says a lot about the character of Brookline students and their care for their school and community. It would have been easy to go “AWOL” after the game and leave this to the custodians who want to see their families for Thanksgiving too!

However, I am disappointed that much of the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is not about school pride. Much of the energy is directed toward classmates and friends who compete and participate together during many other activities. Also, the school is feverishly excited about the competition between classes as opposed to one of the oldest rivalries in the country!

As the school’s football team watched girls enter the Schluntz Gymnasium to rousing applause and postures intimidating their schoolmates, I wondered when the school might duplicate this intensity toward another school in any other interscholastic event.

Brookline provides many opportunities for students to shine against other schools in sports, drama, Quiz Bowl, music, robotics, journalism and many others. Yet we feel the need to paint faces and wear school colors for Powder Puff and not the Thanksgiving Day game nor any of the other aforementioned interscholastic competitions.

We should all be clear that this is not school spirit! It dissects the spirit of classes and directs it at our classmates, not a common foe.

I had a discussion with one of my junior classes when a student said “Brookline sports stink!” to justify this lack of school spirit. I explained how that is not even true for our fall sports; boys soccer, boys and girls cross country, girls volleyball and girls swimming are all tournament-level teams.

At some point, we misplaced our energy – we need to grasp that all of the work the girls put into the Powder Puff game, all of the free time the Powder Puff coaches gave up and all the work the school did to make this game happen pales in comparison to the many hours of intensity the coaches, teachers, participants and players of our competitive interscholastic teams commit to success in the name of Brookline High School!

I understand that there are other issues in the complex matter of school spirit. We could make signs for lesser-attended sports, have broader announcements, greater publicity and more student attendance for performing and visual arts shows and competitions, and have teachers and staff wear flannel in support of the Quiz Bowl team! With strong school support, I believe this would lead to more spirit for all of the great things in which BHS competes, but I know schools do not usually build spirit in this way.

I understand that most schools equate school spirit with success in football and boys basketball. Coach Luke Day and the boys basketball team’s brilliant run in the tournament last year gave the school a huge boost in spirit. I am sure coach Keith Thomas will do the same with the football program in the very near future – much better than I did!

The lesson is that these competitors also do well with our support. The participants do not just want this support when Brookline is winning or has won. It is more important for them to know their classmates are there when things are in a grind and that the student body supports the effort to represent ALL OF US!

My biggest concern is that we have conceded to the fact that “this is the way the school is” and that we can not change the culture of our school. Of course we can!

I remember what it felt like to see my friends and family watch me play in the rain, sleet and snow on Thanksgiving Day when they could have stayed home, drank hot chocolate and watched the game on Brookline Access Television later in the weekend. I played for them as much as for my team – we all won on that bitterly cold and wet day! Brookline had not beaten Newton North since that 1981 game I had attended as a 6th grader. Our 1985 team began a long run of wins on Thanksgiving Day – 12 victories in 14 years. We must recognize the need to endorse the school’s great accomplishments so that we will not mistake spirited activity with true school spirit!

So, in honor of Dr. Vick’s contribution to the 2013 Powder Puff game, I will paint my face red and blue for his first Mock Trial Competition in January; sometimes, we have to lead by example. As an alumnus from the class of 1988, it will be an honor!

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