To the editor:

I am writing in regard to the article “Tigers are Under the Lights on Friday night,” published in the October edition of Tiger Tales. The article discussed the school’s excitement for Joliet West’s first Friday night football game since 2008.

I think that Friday night football games are a hugely significant part of high school for students. One of the article’s quotes mentions that “Friday night football games are common at many high schools, and it is great to experience a Friday night football game atmosphere.”

I also think that Friday night football games are an American tradition in so many ways. They bring out West’s school spirit and bring the school together. However, students beginning their Joliet West careers in the ‘09-‘10 or ‘10-‘11 school years didn’t get to experience these games, and this is not the first time that Friday night football games have been canceled and reinstated at West.

Through an informal poll of West alumni family members, I know that cancelling Friday night games has been an ongoing issue for more than 20 years. Friday night football games have been stopped and restarted at least twice since 1987.

I hope that Friday night football games can be made a permanent part of Joliet West’s football season from now on. Friday night football games are an important part of the high school experience, West’s history, and the school’s Tiger pride, and I think that we should continue to make them a part of the football schedule as much as possible. Friday night football games are meaningful to Joliet West students, as illustrated by the “Under the Lights” article in Tiger Tales, and the memories made at these games will be among the best that Joliet West students will have.

Sincerely,

A Joliet West student