Nina Burik This past Saturday, the Romans put on their orange and blue and headed to the Lincoln Park field for the homecoming matches. Our opponent, the Parker Colonels, sat on the opposite side in their blue and white. How was the Latin Parker matchup decided upon this year after a four year hiatus? Coach Bower, both Latin’s Athletic Director and boys and girls Varsity Soccer coach, said “we want to play them more than anybody else because it’s so much fun, our neighborhood rival.” This is a widespread opinion in Latin community; there’s an unrivaled hunger for victory at any Latin vs. Parker sporting event. The reason for Parker’s hiatus is surprisingly simple. In previous years, Latin and Parker’s homecomings were on the same day. So much of homecoming is playing on your own turf — the chance to exude a prideful sense of ownership — and because of the unfortunate overlap of schedules, playing Parker on our home field had not been a possibility. The turnout for homecoming games in the past few years were largely affected by the teams Latin played. “Whoever we played, even when one year when I got U High, who’s a rival of ours[…] they didn’t bring the same crowd with them,” said Coach Bower. What should be expected for next year’s homecoming games? Scheduling for the homecoming games of 2019 will be decided in the coming spring, so it is uncertain whether or not we will be playing Parker in the years to come. Regardless of what team we play on Homecoming, Latin should come together to support its talented athletes. That said, beating the Colonels (in overtime, especially) surely doesn’t hurt. ]]>