Friday Night Lights and T9 Typing: October 16 at Northside High
If you were wandering the halls of Northside High School on an October 16th between 2006 and 2016, you were living in a golden era. You probably had a side-swept bang that required serious structural engineering, a wrist full of Silly Bandz, and a Motorola Razr that you could dramatically snap shut when you were mad. You were also secretly mastering the art of T9 texting from inside your pocket so the teacher wouldn't confiscate your phone during third period. But the real focus was always Friday night. This was the era of the Northside Eagles' absolute dominance, with the boys bringing home state championships in 2006, 2007, and 2014. We packed the stands at the Mac, screamed until we lost our voices, and then went to Waffle House to recap every single play over scattered, smothered, and covered hashbrowns.
Meanwhile in Georgia History
On October 16, 1973, Atlanta made massive historical waves when voters elected Maynard Jackson as mayor. At just 35 years old, he became the very first Black mayor of a major Southern city. He helped expand the Atlanta airport into the massive international hub we know today—which means you can partially thank him the next time you are sprinting through Concourse B trying to make your connection.
Today's History Sidebar
The Birthday Registry: First, let's wish a happy October 16th birthday to Noah Webster (born in 1758), the man who literally wrote the American dictionary. Without him, we wouldn't have a standardized way to correct people's grammar in the Facebook comments section.
The Birthday Registry: We also celebrate the legendary Angela Lansbury (born in 1925), the beloved actress who starred in Murder, She Wrote. She spent twelve seasons teaching American audiences a very valuable lesson: if Jessica Fletcher shows up in your small town, pack your bags immediately because a wildly convoluted crime is about to occur.
The Retrospective
We may have traded our flip phones for smartphones and our low-rise jeans for... well, whatever kids are wearing today, but some things never change. The pride of wearing Northside blue and white on a crisp October Friday is exactly the same today as it was a decade ago. Go Eagles!