Late Friday, Oak Park Coach, Dick Billingsley, sent out a last minute "ALL CALL", (a pre-recorded message from the school to parents and students), requesting fans refrain from entering the field at the end of the game.Apparently the fans from Oak Park required 'prison yard' security to protect the Oaks Christian fans from the violent, out of control behavior exhibited across the tracks in Oak Park?!!
At the end of the game, armed guards created a secure barrier between the 'rabid' OP fans and the field. Was the motive to allow OCHS families to peacefully celebrate the win without fear of reprisal? Oak Park's Seniors meanwhile sat alone with their coaches, misty-eyed (or may be mystified), wondering why their parents were kept from them at the end of their final game.
What were the OCHS administrators thinking? I actually don't know or care who was responsible for this ill advised decision. All I know is that after their last meeting (Oak Park Eagles beat the OCHS Lions at OCHS), an OCHS administrator must of seen Eagle fans running wildly onto the Lion's field screaming like wild animals, waving flags, frightening coaches and scaring everyone to death with crazy Pro-Eagle behavior! Some probably exalted "GO EAGLES!" as if they hadn't beaten OCHS in several years! Interesting. I didn't see too many Oaks Christian players or parents running to take cover? In fact all I saw,
this season,was the enormous amount of respect players paid each other from both teams.
Last season the only disrespect I saw came from the horrible behavior of a gloating Jimmy Clausen and his coach/ brother. But they're gone and bothering someone else, someplace else.
Other OCHS standouts like coach Clay Mathews and quarterback Chris Potter continue to raise the bar on and off the field, exemplifying the best combination of sportsmanship and athleticism that should represent an institution of OCHS caliber.
I just hate to see people create animosity where none exists. That's the Christian behavior I'm not familiar with.
I know many OCHS families. They are very good people. Yet, someone is making some questionable decisions that have nothing to do with a high school football game, except the affect on it.
I'm not saying Oak Park is perfect either. I just don't think it's necessary to turn the game into such a circus unnecessarily.
Oak Park football games seat both visitors and home together pretty peacefully. So I'm not sure how this paranoia became justified.
Why not remove the barriers and just let the kids play?