Beginning Friday night, Tippah County high school football takes center stage.

Ripley hosts North Panola, Falkner plays a MHSAA Classic game at Alcorn Central, and Walnut plays Wheeler in a MHSAA Classic game at Thrasher. All games begin at 7:30 p.m.

Support your home team, for reasons both traditional and economic. Going to the game does more than just show your tradition of school spirit. Remember that football pays the costs of much of the athletic programs at most schools.

In these times of spare economic funding, when most if not all school districts will get less funding than they need from Jackson, it is increasingly important to support your home team with your admission fees.

Friday night marks the start of the two and a half month love affair by high school football enthusiasts. It also marks the start of the nine-month odyssey of high school sports.

A lot is on the line when teams suit up each week, including school and community pride. Communities tend to rally around their sports teams. They can be good morale boosters for any community.

Sometimes the home team isn’t as successful as their fans would like. When this happens, fan interest often vanishes, and family and friends are the only ones supporting the “home team.”

If you get upset about your team having a bad year, remember the young men and women who prepared for the competition and came out on the short end. They probably feel worse than you do.

As this season begins, we encourage you to support your home team. Show good sportsmanship, and thereby make sure the game story shows up on the sports page, and not the police docket.

Support your home team. For economic reasons as well as school pride. follow the Beach Boys’ advice and “Be True To Your School.”