Before I get into what I did...

...and didn't learn as a fan this year, let's have a short recap of the 2012 season from my (boring old white) eyes. I managed to attend fifteen and a half games this year, saw one recorded in its entirety on TV and parts of several on -- what's it called, the High School CUBE network? -- my computer at home.

I wasn't able to attend Weeks One, Two, Five, Seven, Ten (first round of the playoffs) or Twelve (quarterfinals). But I did make the best of the remaining five weeks of the regular season and two of the postseason, usually seeing a game on Friday night and one on Saturday. (In Week Eleven I was able to take in a game on Friday night, a second one on Saturday afternoon and a third on Saturday night. Nice!)

I tried to meet up with friends when possible, but that was rare. (It seems that some people have better things to do than go to a high school football game. Strange.) But I did strike up a number of really good conversations with other fans in the bleachers, many of whom -- like me -- had no dog in the fight whatsoever but were just out to see some cheap entertainment a good game between two schools. (And I learned a lot from them.)

Enough chatter; let's get to my 2012 season (home team, as always, in CAPS).

Week Three:

Cary-Grove 17, CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH 3
Saw my good buddy Scherps.

Marist 24, NAZARETH 21
Red Hawks kicked a field goal to win with no time left.

Week Four:

Glenbard West 28, HINSDALE CENTRAL 23
Hilltoppers came back to win after being down by ten at the half.

LOYOLA 41, Providence 21
Ramblers dominated the Celtics.

Week Six:

LINCOLN-WAY EAST 42, Bolingbrook 18
Saw Aaron Bailey go down but Tom Fuessel come up.

Crete-Monee 41, BLOOM 6
Met up with my pal Kevin. Also got to see Laquon Treadwell.

Loyola 30, MOUNT CARMEL 27 (on television)
Figured the Ramblers were For Real after this one.

Week Eight:

GLENBARD NORTH 17, Wheaton North 15
Another excellent finish; Panthers won it on a field goal at the end.

LOYOLA 45, Brother Rice 0
Worst game of the year; left after it went to a running clock. (Also got rained on.)

Week Nine:

KANELAND 33, Morris 30 (above)
Outstanding contest; so glad I didn't go to the Palatine - Schaumburg game that night. Looking forward to the rematch next year.

ST. PATRICK 42, St. Viator 30
Good game; Hanson Stadium is great on a warm, sunny fall day.

GLENBARD WEST 26, Downers Grove North 0 (second half)
Blowout; but always good to go out to Duchon Field in Glen Ellyn. Very civilized.

Week Eleven (Second Round):

Neuqua Valley 44, BOLINGBROOK 33
Was introduced to Joey Rhattigan. Wow.

Waubonsie Valley 28, OAK PARK RIVER FOREST 7
OPRF is a great place to see a game, even if the contests aren't always good.

LINCOLN-WAY EAST 24, Providence 14
Great show by the Griffins; I was convinced they'd take state.

Week Thirteen (Semifinals):

Glenbard North 27, LOYOLA 24
Surprised by the outcome; Justin Jackson ran all over the Ramblers.

Mount Carmel 26, NEUQUA 21
Surprised by the outcome; Caravan much better than I thought.

And then there was Champaign. I'll have to get to that in my next post.