Dundee-Crown came close, and that's OK with fans
As she choked back tears, Dundee-Crown High School Principal Lynn McCarthy recalled one of her favorite moments from the Chargers' first-ever trip to the Class 4A Final Four tournament this past weekend.
It came Friday night at a time when it was clear the Chargers weren't going to beat Waukegan High. But the score didn't matter to Dundee-Crown's many, many fans.
"They were saying, 'We still love you, we still love you,'" McCarthy proudly recalled.
McCarthy was among the roughly 200 Charger backers who enthusiastically welcomed the team home to the Carpentersville campus on Sunday afternoon, the day after the team finished fourth in the tournament.
The team bus was escorted through the communities Dundee-Crown serves by police and fire trucks representing each town. The sirens and horns heralded the procession's arrival at the school, and when the players arrived they were greeted by cheers, applause and the school band, which played the Dundee-Crown song.
Among the fans at the rally was Don Wall, who biked 5 miles from his Algonquin home to attend.
"I think it's pretty neat," Wall said of the Dundee-Crown team's accomplishment on the court. "I'm proud of all the boys that did such a good job."
Carpentersville resident Judy Barbosa was there to cheer on her son, Rolando, a team manager and videographer.
"I wanted to be here when my son gets off the bus," she said. "They may not have won downstate, but at least they made it downstate."
Barbosa's feelings were echoed by everyone in the crowd Sunday. Some had balloons, some had homemade signs, but everyone was filled with school spirit and enthusiasm for the team.
During a ceremony inside the main gym, Coach Lance Huber thanked the fans and everyone who supported his squad.
"It's a great experience to go downstate, and these guys will never forget," Huber said. "They'll have it their whole lives."
McCarthy might have summed up the Chargers' season, its Final Four bid and Sunday's rally best. As the ceremony started, she looked up at the fans in the stands and said, "Is this awesome or what?"
The crowd agreed.