A Faithful Football Fan

Nov. 22, 2002

Gladys Patton echoes the sentiment of many teenagers at Damascus High School. "There's not much to do on a Friday night in Damascus," the longtime resident states. For this reason, and out of sheer enjoyment of the game, Patton has attended almost every DHS football game for over 30 years.

She recalls one time when she sat in the stands, joined by her late husband, when another couple struck up a conversation. "They asked us if we had a grandson or somebody playing, and we said no," Patton recalls. She asked if their son was on the team. "No," they responded. "When we moved here, the real estate agent told us that on Friday night, you go to the Friday night football games, because that's the thing to do in Damascus."

Patton, a volunteer nurse, has lived in Damascus for more than 35 years. Her son Scott graduated from Damascus High School in 1971. "That was the year after football started...my son would have played, but the coach didn't want the seniors to play."

"After [the school installed] lights, my late husband and I went to all the games at home and some of the away games too." Patton cites the installation of stadium lights as the catalyst for an increase in fan attendance. "That's when the attendance at the game went up tremendously. We used to have afternoon games before that, and a lot of people couldn't get there." Years after the new lights, the installation of additional stadium stands increased seating capacity. Many years ago, Patton recalls, "there was just like one section of stands, and there were no stands on the other sides.'

Patton has watched the team grow in both size and skill over the course of the past three decades. "They didn't win much in the beginning, which is the normal thing for new teams," she remarks. As for this year's squad, "they looked pretty good," Patton says. She points out the division changes over the years: "We play different teams now -- 4A is a lot different than playing 3A and 2A." Despite the changes, though, the team has been strong through many seasons. "They've been winning for quite a few years," she states.

"The school is so much bigger," Patton says. "When my son came to school, he was in 7th grade and it was all in one school. The school was small enough that he got to know everyone." But while the school has grown, its ties to the community are still strong. "A small school like ours still has a lot of parent support," Patton says. "My son now lives with his children in Westminster and the people there do the same thing that we do in Damascus. And I think that's nice."