texas traditions: homecoming.
as i was grocery shopping the other day, i came across this lovely display:
senior mums.
texas lives and breathes football. period. so as you can imagine, homecoming is an intense tradition in high schools across the state.
my high school was no exception.
on monday of homecoming week (yes, WEEK) the principal always announces the dress up days that are supposed to rile us up for the big game.
does your school have camo day??
yeah, i didn’t think so.
camo + the skinny arm = fantastic.
(is the flex arm position the boy version of the skinny arm??)
also note the work boots.
realizing that i was home during the thick of homecoming season, i searched high and low for some incredible pictures that would really capture the spirit of the festivities. the following photographs were taken during everyone’s favorite event: the homecoming carnival.
now the carnival takes place during school hours and if i remember correctly, all class periods were severely shortened and lunch periods were lengthened so you could have extra time in the courtyard where there was food, a number of games, and other spirit activities.
at the end of the day, of course, there was also a pep rally, which i routinely (and illegally) skipped. what a rebel.
now mums are usually your school colors… in my case, white, silver and maroon.
except your senior year, when you get an all white mum. and a burger king crown that is painted silver.
note the black and white mum to the right. protest? goth? whats going on there?
i never, ever, wore a mum.
girls go crazy over this mess. ribbons oftentimes had silver lettering bearing your name, the name of your date to the dance on saturday, the name of your school, and chants for your team/against the other team. in the center of the chest plate flower, there would usually be a bear or little plastic cutouts representing you (i.e. music notes, ‘senior,’ etc.)
mums get ridiculously large, and were strategically pinned… yet they always tore everyone’s clothing.
and did i mention the cow bells?
yes, girls would have cowbells attached to the bottom of their ribbons and the friday of homecoming sounded like we were in the middle of a pasture, wrangling cattle.
it was horrifying.
apparently this year’s trend was bedazzled overalls.
finally!
stop it.
see the girl along the right hand side of this photo? the one not wearing a mum, or even school colors?
kindred spirits.
why yes, i do need a sash of mum.
absurd.
INAPPROPRIATE.
yet 100% hilarious.
WHOSE BABY IS THAT?
GIIIIIRL, you know that’s HER baby!! Also “stop it.” HAHAHAHA!
You never wore a mum, this much is true. But mom certainly made one for you!
I only ever had them, well, mainly because you and I both know I’m a sucker for arts n’ crafts. Finicky fingers. Hated having to wear it though, they were such a pain in the ass, and mine was TINY!
…. This camo thing must be new, I still to this day wouldn’t be caught DEAD in camo. gross.
My little rebel, I’ve always been so proud of the rebel in you.
Did this ever come up on Friday Night Lights?? They TOTALLY missed an awesome opportunity, if not. Except they weren’t doing that great show to let the rest of the country laugh at the Texas football obsession, right? :-)
incredible show.
but now that i think about it…. they didn’t ever have homecoming mums….
INAUTHENTIC.
i’m so offended.
but riggins. HOW COULD I BE MAD AT HIM.
mmhmmm. Definitely Riggins!
ok, this is totally random and strange because i just linked to your blog from thebloggess and ran across this post. ironically the cheerleader at the end is my little sister with my son in her arms. yes, really :)
what!? you must be kidding!
what a small world – i just found a bunch of photos on creek’s website and couldn’t resist such a cute picture!
i can’t believe you just solved the whose baby is that mystery.
the carnival was always fun – what a great experience to share with your family!
OMG thats a picture of me holding my nepheww thats totally not my son….. ahhh thats funny and our homecoming is crazy but its so much i recomend going all out or its jsut not funn!!
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