Melanie Gonzalez and Hafsa Faisal
On October 20, 2023, the Cardozo Judges’ football team celebrated a victory against Stuyvesant High School with a score of 16-0. This game was no ordinary football came, but Cardozo’s Homecoming Game. The night was a huge event filled with tons of cheer and school spirit.
Homecoming is one of the many exciting events that occurred during October at Cardozo. Tickets were on sale on Wednesday, October 18, and were in high demand. Due to the high demand from staff and students, Principal Colby declared a lottery on a Google Form determined who could snag tickets to the event. Regulations were also placed on the lottery; students who got dress-coded, or came frequently late to class could not enter the lottery. To those selected students who won the lottery, they received a notification email, and paid $5 to buy the ticket. Lots of students were not able to show up to this year’s Homecoming Game, which disappointed many.
When entering homecoming, food stands were set up at the entrance in the staff parking lot. Multiple clubs, teams, and programs were there selling goods, such as the cheer team and the NJROTC program. Here at The Verdict, we set up a snack, drinks, and merchendise table, as well.
The lingering question was: is the team ready to play? Throughout the day, a drizzling rain sprinkled New York. Could the team still be able to win with such slippery ground? “We have an offense scheme that allows us to be prepared for all scenarios. We knew it was gonna be raining during the week so we geared our practices towards practicing for rain case scenarios,” Coach Sean O’Connor commented.
“For example, using a wet ball in practice to work on quarterback center exchanges and ball handling being done by running backs and receivers. It was done with a wet ball all week,” O’Connor added.
“I play better when the odds are stacked against us,” shared Cardozo Football Team Captain Nate.
To start the game, Cardozo’s very own NJROTC students performed a march on the field for all spectators. During the game, fans stomped on the bleachers in cheer, yelling, “Let’s go Dozo!” The cheerleading team also did an impressive job cheering and showing school spirit. They were able to get the crowd going.
Foods such as hotdogs, samosas, and cookies were sold, as well as beverages such as hot chocolate and soda. Hand-made bracelets were also sold throughout the game, to further support the team and raise up the Cardozo spirit. During half-time, Cardozo’s marching band played and performed, which astounded many with their beautiful sounds.
As the final minutes of the game approached, a soft rain hit, though that didn’t matter, for the football team still played well and were able to win with a score of 16-0. With the night sky in the atmosphere, the students went home, gleeful that Cardozo had won their Homecoming Game.