The Hour had come, parades had begun, cheers echoed throughout the night, getting ready for the dog fight between two rivals in the stadium trenches that seated forty thousand fans, students, parents, cousins, uncles, neices, sisters, brothers and grandmothers on it's hard wood benches,  Turkey was smelling in the air as folks rushed to their seats to see a game between Crimson, Gold  and Purple, White after a sleepless night, praying that Purple, White would win the fight, it was nothing  but a game to those who couldn't feel the emotions of a tradition of two schools who didn't want to lose, the hour had come, the parades had begun, cheers echoed through out every house as old folks sat on their porches waving  Pom-Poms to the sound of the drums, "HAIL HAIL, THE GAMES ARE HERE,"  folks dressed up like foxes and children sporting their  purple, white, crimson, gold bobby socks, while Phillis Wheatley and Jack Yates were getting ready for a serious debate, knocking heads and wishing no one came up dead,  forty thousands fans cheering  for their teams as the crisp cold Turkey Day chilled their bones as some snuck a shot of Scotch, hoping the law didn't watch, the hour had come, the parades had begun, everyone screaming and yelling to the top of their voices, wanting victory for their choices, the hour had come, the parades had begun, tears covered benches when one or the other team lost in the cold and sometime muddy trenches, but what a tradition it was between two schools, playing their hearts and souls out to be number one while forty thousand fans screamed to the top of their lungs, what a tradition to have created such a rivalry game, and "thank God,"  that nobody came up lame,  the hour had come, the parades had begun, traffic jams lined the streets while others walked for blocks to get the best seats, the teams looked like Pros as the bright Thanksgiving Sun warmed bodies that were chilled while it glowed off the colorful helmets below as pigskins sailed through the air like bullets out of nowhere,  "the event of the year," Miss Wheatley and Miss Yates looked so dear at Half Time during their show, waving their hands to all the cheering fans as cheerleaders pranced and danced to the sound of the bands, Wheatley and Yates, "what can we say," and it's hard for young folks to believe that such a game drew over forty thousand fans on Turkey Day....I flashed back while driving by old Jeppessen Stadium, where Purple, White and Crimson, Gold clashed......I stopped for a moment......and listened......SHHHH!  Those great moments blew across my mind like a nice morning breeze, the hour had come, the parades had begun and MAN!  Didn't we have some fun on so many THANKSGIVINGS IN THE COLD, RAIN AND SUN.......AND OUR LIVES WERE NOT THREATEN BY THE GUN!
                                                                     by  playwright  Larry Hunter
              
              
*Contact Larry Hunter for a copy of the poem above and below
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