| Central Students, Parents, and Administration:
As the closing seconds ticked away in what became the final game for both the seniors of the football squad and G-Unit, it became evident that this class of '06 was indeed a special one. For the first time, a York county team in AAAA made a statement-Winning a district game. Not only that, but the school rallied around these seniors, because of the team's exceptional play and the G-Unit itself. All of a sudden, going to football games and painting your faces orange and black became the "cool" thing to do, a sight rarely seen in high schools today.
However, as the season comes to an end and closes a chapter on the G-Unit as we know it, we wish to say good bye to the community we have grown to love. Started three seasons ago by eight close friends, all of whom friends of Mr. Gilbert himself, these sophomores (And now seniors) simply wanted to spark some school spirit behind the football team. We remember that our initial goal was simple: To be "known" throughout our grade, and just the class of '06 alone. We hoped that maybe some kids would join us, but quite honestly, we never expected more then a few kids to join us.
That year, we began to make frequent trips to Party City (By the means of our parents, ha!) for banners, facepaint, and all the works that we have become to known for. This routine was something different in Central, something that nobody even in the county had seen. We poored our money into this "G-Unit," hoping that it would simply survive until the following year. To pay for the eight orange "G-Unit" shirts, we had to beg and persuade our ever stubborn parents to believe in us and order 'em up at Athletic Lettering. The order took a little over a week, and everyone was anxious to see these shirts. Were they going to be perceived as cool? Dumb? Stupid, just a fad?
The answer to that question would only be learned in our senior year, when we sold over 100 shirts. But nonetheless, the first season of the G-Unit was rough. We were labled as the "stupid" tenth graders by some upperclassmen, a label we have become quite proud in. The team struggled that year, but the eight of us were there every game and every step of the way, even arranging car pools to away games.
It soon became evident to the eight of us that we really loved this thing called the "G-Unit", even if it was just the eight of us. We began to look forward to Friday nights almost as much as the players that season. But just as quickly the season came, the season came to a close, leaving a void in our hearts and minds as we entered our junior year.
That fall brought new things to the G-Unit, including our first offical "CentralGunit.com" and now additional black shirts and even G-Unit hoodies! Some of the upperclassmen that had called us "stupid" all walked across the stage only a few months earlier, and the vibe the G-Unit received from the school seemed to turn from negative to neutral! Alright! However, that would all chage as we hosted our first cookout of the G-Unit prior to Homecoming game 04. Not knowing how many people to expect, nor how much food to buy, we will never forget the overwhelming response to the cookout. As we found ourselves delivering the food we had bought, a swarm of 100+ kids had all gathered in TopFlight waiting for our arrival. This event also marked the first time the G-Unit used flyers to promote ourselves, and the eight of us began to see the momentum we were building. Additional kids, albeit a few, began to sit with us and cheer. Our girlfriends, yes we had girlfriends!, even joined and nicknamed themseleves as G-Unit hoes (This mini organization of the G-Unit quickly crumbled because of teen romance and the breakups that follow it). Even parents began to give us high fives, thanking us for our support. However all of our dreams and plans soon turned to the backburner, as riffs began to develop between the eight of us as the season progressed. As with any close friendship and power struggle, we all began see different ways of running and building the G-Unit. The beginning of the "fame" and "power" almost crushed us, as we simply did not know how to handle it. Two of us even called it quits, only to be persuaded to stay because of a kick-ass last game of the season at New Oxford, where we all came together and enjoyed the G-Unit. It was our junior year that we truly became a staple of Central football, recognizable by any Central parent and student. And as the school year winded down, we reminded everyone exactly who we were with a promo disc issued out to over 500 kids.
Fast forward to the summer of '05-Only a few months ago. We lived and breathed Central football, beginning this xanga as an attempt to gather more followers and members. Even at the beach the best friends began to plot grand ideas for the G-Unit, a sign of true dedication and dorkiness. However that was who we were, we were simply eight close friends who did not care two years earlier what people thought of them. We were eight close friends, who did not care if all our money was spent on the G-Unit. We were eight close friends who only cared about turning this G-Unit into the best student section in the Susquehanna valley and doing something "different." Ask any of us how we can describe ourselves, and we really can't give you an answer. We'd like to think of ourselves as special, but who knows? We all have a dry wit, all tend to do well in school. All are athletic, for the most part. But importantly, we all excell at what we do. Whether its athletics, acting, computers, we all have our niche and work hard. Maybe that's what brings us together. The dry wit and humor also plays a factor...
But as the season began, we developed this xanga in coordination with a screename, CentralGunit. The website became a massive overhaul, and we all worked on bits and parts of it in the summer hours. While other kids were at the pool, we were working on the G-Unit. Okay, maybe we lie there, but we always were working on this, giving it everything we had. And in the end, all our hard work paid off. We became swamped with shirt orders this season, over 100 in total, and bumperstickers became our new item. Throw in the stickers and shirt orders, plus a website, cookouts with an RV, and newspaper interviews, it becomes clear to see how much we grew exactly from the original eight orange shirts. And the season had not even started yet!
But as the schedule of 2005 begin to play out, it became obvious that the stars were aligning for a magical season. The team, led by our friends on the field who had worked so hard in the weightroom, began to thrive and gel. The G-Unit, led by the eight of us who put so much time into it, began to grow in massive amounts and became known throughout schools across the county. Kids even came from other schools to come to Central games just to "See the G-Unit in action." All of a sudden we became "revolutionairies" and kids throughout the county wished they had a "G-Unit" at their school. Our own school peers, some who had not attended a game in their three years of high school, began to come and paint their face, cheering on the Panthers. At the school's senior night, parents organized a celebration for us. CentralGunit.com tallied over 8,500 different user hits, an insane amount from the original 70-90 only a year ago. Cookouts became a trademark of Central games, with kids coming to enjoy the food and get ready for the Panther win. Heck, we even inspired a rule change to the YAIAA rulebook because of our constant standing. Newspaper reporteres from the York Daily Record routinely called us, and camera crews were always around. FOX 43 even devoted an entire segment to the G-Unit, with interviews and footage of a cookout being broadcasted to all of the Susquehanna valley. Suddenly eight childhood friends had indeed done something special and maybe even made school spirit "cool." But best of all-Central went undefeated and advanced all the way to the AAAA District semifinal, arguably claiming making a statement that this class of '06 had led a team that was the best from York County, ever.
As the pages have turned on Central's season of 2005, the future of the G-Unit remains unclear. Though the eight of us, the eight friends who started this memorable undertaking, are all moving onto college and must leave the G-Unit behind, we hope that the spirit lives on. Hopefully, a few underclassmen would like to carry it on and keep the tradition alive. Whether changing the name or not, we understand that many underclassmen have G-Unit shirts still, so the opportunity for a G-Unit existing is very possible. The foundation has been set for a successful student section to thrive for years, however, it is up to the underclassmen to carry it on. If nobody does step up, we are confident that Wayne's World will be able to provide Central with plenty of school spirit, and best of luck to them and future Panther football squads.
With all of this being said, we will never forget the memories we enjoyed at Central. We will never forget the first G-Unit game against Red Lion in fall of '03, where a questionable call to quick kick it on third down led to a Central loss. We will never forget Cedar Crest '04, when Hurricane Isabelle decided to interupt the game and cause massive amounts of rain, which just led to danceoffs in the parking lot and crazy G-Unit kids sliding across cars. Or the ER trip for one of our members that evening because of excessive celebration. Or the lame overtime session the following Monday to finish the game. We will never forget the spirit days this year, when everyone seemed to be decked out in orange and black. We will never forget all the cookouts, with over 1000+ hot dogs and burgers consumed. We will never forget seeing two local television station vehicles, both parked next to our cookout, wanting to interview us. We will never forget the miracle in North York, nor sprinting to the new school and stadium at midnight on the eve of the first game of the season this year. We will never forget all the shirt orders, and we will never forget delivering all the shirts, either. We will never forget the some fifty comments per post on the xanga. We will never forget the York High game this season, in which everyone seemed to be jumping and screaming with every play. We will never forget charging the field after winning Central's first league championship. We will never forget the handshake our principal, Mr. Butterfield, issued us when thanking us for "everything we did for Central." Thank you Central.
Always Bleeding Orange and Black,
The Central York G-Unit
-Astin Pronio
-Blake Ilgenfritz
-Mike Pritchard
-Alex Fortney
-Andy Harner
-Chris Baum
-Matt Brenner
-Colton Nail |
