Suggestion Box: Pigskins, Princesses, and Polish Pride

By N3 Entertainament Team
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Well, it’s Friday Night Lights time in our bi-peninsular paradise and forgive me if I find it difficult to welcome the season with open arms.
Why? Because while well aware of how scheduling must be done to accommodate the playoffs and such and certainly able to recognize the advantages of getting the sports seasons off to  quick start, it is an all too clear reminder that summer is careening toward its inevitable end and any remaining denial of that fact is slowly diminishing with each score that comes across our desk.
I could pine a bit about  “Back in the day” when games began a couple weeks into September and how each contest was played on a cool and crisp nearly perfect autumn night and of course the games were more exciting and the hot dogs tasted better and so on but this guarded enthusiasm  I hold regarding the onset of the games, matches, meets, etc. has nothing to do with longing for ‘how things were once done’ . It’s just that another summer is slipping away and there’s still so many fun things to cram into such a short space.
But, putting my personal ennui associated with the passing of summer  aside, the football season begins this week with four teams in the area playing at home and one doing battle just a jaunt down ‘37 away.
And that one might be the best matchup of the night.
Newaygo whose football fortunes took a serious turn last season with a half dozen straight wins visits Kent City and an Eagle team that roared through the regular season without a loss and possesses an explosive running attack.
In other area games the Grant Tigers host the  Shelby Tigers in the Battle of the Bengals, the Rebels of Lee will take the field in the Cloud, while the Packers hope to tame the Wildcats of Evart and maybe start a winning streak.
These players are the true student athletes who play for the love of the game.
And even if football is not your thing just go anyway  and watch the performances put on by the marching bands. These are also student athletes who put in the time and effort in order to provide entertainment for their audience to be sure but also to reach higher. To aim for exceptional. To challenge themselves as do the teams on the field. And just as it is with the teams on the field,  you can follow their improvement and the polish in their steps as the season progresses.
Take in a game. If not this week, pick a game your home town or adopted town school is hosting and catch the feel of what high school sports is all about. The fire in the crowd during a close game, the elation of a score and the deflation when scored upon, the fence buster guys who hang over the rail and shout what can only be defined broadly as ‘advice’ to coaches, players and (mostly) referees.
It’s all great entertainment and as a bonus it takes place outside….under the lights…. because after all summer is on the downswing and the days are getting shorter and...and…
“Sigh”

Among a certain segment of our population the whole princess thing is a pretty big deal. If you’re acquainted with one or more such aficionados of this genre consider a trip down to John Ball Park Saturday when Princess Day at the Zoo will be taking place from 9am- 2:30pm.

And if you hunger for a little golabki and pine for some pierogi the Polish Festival is your ticket to satisfying those epicurean desires as well as your  kielbasa cravings.
Mix in a little “In Heaven There Is No Beer” type of tunes and you got yourself a party down at Rosa Parks Circle Friday through Sunday.
Lots of doings and family fun and if you’ve never been to one of the heritage festivals that take place downtown this is a great one to try.
http://www.polishheritagesociety.com/polish-festival-2018.html

Suggestion Box is sponsored by Newaygo Brewing Co.where good food and good drink make for good times