Saints visitors, but not really
When the St. Charles East football team takes on Geneva in the second round of state playoffs tonight, some Saints fans won't have far to travel.
They'll just walk out the front door and cross Gray Street.
That's because Geneva High School's Burgess Field is right on the boundary line of the Geneva and St. Charles school districts.
St. Charles East supporters, and even a player, are within field goal range of the Vikings' football field.
"It is kind of weird," said junior Wes Allen of St. Charles, a running back for the Saints. He lives within a five-minute walk of Geneva High, as does middle linebacker Pat Friel, also a junior. Kids in the neighborhood attend Davis Elementary, which feeds into East High.
Geneva and St. Charles East are not in the same athletic conference and haven't played each other in football since 1978.
The St. Charles residents are making sure their Geneva neighbors see their support, with orange ribbons tied around trees and light posts on the north side of Gray, courtesy of Friel and Allen's moms and other Saints boosters.
Allen said he hopes that won't backfire.
"It would make me mad. I'd be kind of upset if I saw the other team's colors by my field," he said.
Tiffany Jendrzejczyk, who lives on Gray across from the field, is a die-hard Saints fan. On Fridays, her second-grade class at nearby Davis gets to dress in the orange-and-black and make posters for the team.
"Even though we are in St. Charles, it is exciting to watch Geneva go as far as they do all the time in football and soccer," she said. They don't attend many Geneva football games but do go over to watch the soccer teams.
They'll invite friends from Batavia over to catch some of the excitement when the Bulldogs play the Vikes in football, or at least let them park in their driveway.
"It's a really fun way to get connected with your community," she said.
She's invited friends over Friday night for sloppy joes and chili. Her son, who is in eighth grade, actually has tickets to the game.
He is a soccer player and asked his mom this year, "Can I just go to Geneva for school?" because it has a good soccer team. (It lost in the playoff supersectional Wednesday night).
But even though they like their Geneva neighbors, there is no question about loyalties: Her husband, who grew up in this neighborhood, was in the first class to graduate from the building that is now East.
Allen is just as loyal.
"I love East. If I had the opportunity to go to Geneva, I wouldn't," he said.
"I just grew up a Saint."