Letter to the Editor-Bucs

Letter to the Editor

I am deeply saddened by the event that took place after the football game between the Belvidere Bucs and Woodstock Marian. As a past member of the Woodstock community I am devastated by the action of the Marian football team and never more proud to call myself a Buc.

After suffering a devastating loss in this first round of play-offs, The Bucs football players stayed on the field long after the Marian players had left. You see we, the Buc family, had to say goodbye to our senior players.

The seniors line up and the younger players, coaches, and parents file though to hug, cry with and say thank you to the young men who have, for most, played their last game of football.

It’s a touching time to bring closer and to pass the Bucs over to the next generation, and let me tell you as a parent of one of the senior’s heart-wrenching to watch. Well over half of these boys have played together since they were 8-years-old. So saying goodbye to each other took some time.

After gathering composer the boys headed to the locker room to gather their things for the long ride back to Belvidere. What was waiting for them in the locker room was just unthinkable.

The Marion football players had taken this opportunity to ransack, smash, and steal the belongings of the Bucs players.
Marian is a Catholic school, a private school, not that they should be held to a higher standard but…. I could comprehend their actions if they had lost on the field, but they won.

I am never happier to call myself a Buc. I know that the young men who put on the Buc jerseys would have never done anything like this to players who, win or lost, played in Belvidere.

The Buc coaches have instilled respect for all, on and off the field, in the young men that want to call themselves a Buc football player. I, a parent of Buc football players, thank them. Football players are held to a higher standard than the average student in the Belvidere community. They wear and we wear our colors with pride even after the game is over.

I don’t know what will be done with Marian football team as far as punishment for their actions, but I sure know what would happen in Belvidere. Football is a team sport and even if the action was only a few on the team the whole team, community should suffer. Their season should be over. Send the message loud and clear. Football players should be the leaders in a school.

I would like to end by saying thank you to the Belvidere coaching staff for not only making great football players but taking the time to make great men.

Karen Danielson