Is “Homecoming” just a USA thing? Or do other countries do something like it? Homecoming is an event – sports related – given by a high school whereby alumni are encouraged to return to root for their alma mater & later go to a nice dance. Some towns go all out, having parades and such things. At Newton, we have a King and Queen elected by the student body out of the senior class, and there’s a band half-time show. But no parades or anything extravagant. The dance after the game is formal, so many young people will be all decked out in their nicest clothes yet. (Well, until Prom, that is.)
Those of you who know about Homecoming are most likely wondering why I’m talking about it in January. After all, it’s the big Football Season event. And Football Season for high school sports, is over. Well, when you go to a non-football school, you must plan Homecoming for some other sporting event. In our school, we do it during basketball season. And tonight is our Homecoming game & dance. I, of course, am home. Not big on crowds or basketball and especially not big on dances, Homecoming’s never been a big part of my life. But the students at school have been excited about all week. (Well, the 3 days I had ’em this week, at least.)
I do have a question for those of you who know about Homecoming – do universities do this too? In a typical maneuver, I graduated from a football-free high school and attended a football-free university (Wright State University). So no Homecoming there, should there be such a thing for universities.
Now, after I graduated uni, I ended up teaching in two football high schools. And even went to Homecoming at my first teaching position. It was so weird having Homecoming in October instead of December or January. And Eaton did have a parade and all that jazz. I was mostly there to see the band half-time show. And I really remember very little about it. I had my folks & sister come along, just for grins. Amy probably remembers more about it than I do. I think we lost, but I don’t even remember that.
You might be wondering how we do a band half-time show during a basketball game. It takes place between the Junior Varsity and Varsity games. And it’s usually pretty good. They fill up the gym pretty well. The theme this year is Grease (the musical). I’m sure it was a good show – it usually is. We might not have the winningest sports teams around (though some are pretty decent) but we do have the Best Band in the Land. Heh.
I was inspired to write this post (and it was much better written in my head) while returning from the gas station tonight. Business there was down a bit because of Homecoming. So I got to thinking about our own take on it and wondering about how “universal” such a thing it is. And wrote up an LJ post on the short walk home. Of course, it’s a couple hours later and I don’t remember most of my “In My Head” post. I’m pretty sure it was better organized that this one. Heh – ah well.
It’s been a long time now, but when I was in college, there was a similar event, though not called “homecoming”.
weird having homecoming in december/january. here we have it in october, usually the first or second weekend (depending on your school). parades, king/queen, excessive amounts of ‘school spirit’, ‘spirit weeks’, game on friday, a dance on saturday, etc.
Homecoming is definitely a big alumni event at the universities I’m familiar with, my own included. My high school didn’t have a football team either, but we did have a pretty good soccer team (for its division), and as soccer was a fall sport, this worked out fairly well for Homecoming. Actually, in high school, I’m not sure if any alumni really showed up; the whole thing was more for the current students. My college, however, had a lot of alums showing up for the football game and assorted frivolities.
My old University has Homecoming. It’s also a big event. I’m not sure about out here in Cali however.
I think Carleton had Homecoming. I think it usually also involved new student parents weekend. And, IIRC, either the first or second round of science midterms. Read: I spent it in the library and then SciFi house. Also? I don’t think there was a dance, just a football game.
Radford University had a Homecoming as well, although for the life of me, I can’t recall what sporting event it might have been tied to. We didn’t have a football program, either, but it was held fairly close to the time high schools usually hold their homecomings–well before basketball season.
Definitely not an Australian thing. High school sports aren’t as big in Australia, either.
Sports were never big back home, so no… stuff like that just wasn’t in the school budget.
It’s basically a US only thing. But that’s because the US seems to be the only place where sports are considered more important than academics at school or university….
Ouch! The university I went to, Dartmouth College, isn’t exactly an academic weakling. It does, however, have a fiercely loyal body of alumni, and Homecoming caters to and encourages that. Yes, the football game is a part of that, because it’s a fun thing where you can cheer on your school, but it’s one of many activities spanning the weekend including an alumni parade, a bonfire, and mini class reunions.
Wright State has Homecoming. I never knew about it when I was a student but it is mentioned in the alumni newsletter. I think they have it in the fall but I don’t remember. It may be in the winter in conjunction with basketball season since that seems to be its most popular sport. Obviously, it hasn’t been that important for me to remember the details.
Interesting post. Did I see right in my post that you’re at Gally this year? May we meet up? I would love to sit down and talk to you for a while. 😀
I’ll be going if I can get a roomie. (And grief, I hope the plane ticket prices I saw in December are still there.)
I’d offer up the room, but it’s full. 🙁 I’m sorry…if I had known earlier… Have you checked on the PMEB list…is someone going off of there? I would love to see you again.