Let’s hear it for spirit

Danette Goulet

COSTA MESA -- As the sun set on the Orange Coast College parking lot

Friday night, the smell of barbecues filled in the air and a sea of

red-and-gold-clad figures began to set up camp.

It was the first Estancia High School homecoming tailgate party and the

introduction of the Eagle Pride Foundation.

Alumni, parents, students and younger brothers and sisters mingled amid

flying paper pom-poms and eagle pendants.

Tara Wilson, a 1984 graduate, drove up from San Diego with her daughter,

Ivy, to support her alma mater with hopes of seeing some of her old

classmates.

The flyer Wilson received about the tailgate prompted her to get in touch

with some of her old classmates, whom she hadn’t spoken to since

graduation in 1981.

“This is my daughter’s first high school football game -- though she’s

more interested in the cheerleaders than the football game,” she said.

Other alumni didn’t have quite as far to travel. Russ King, a 1992

graduate, is a coach and substitute teacher at Estancia.

“I think this is great,” he said. “A lot of the parents didn’t know each

other -- this really brings a sense of camaraderie to the school.”

It was by no means just the alumni who were getting into the spirit of

things as the group prepared to cheer on the eagle football team.

“I think it’s great that we get to mingle with other parents,” said Jack

Ippolito, who has both a son and daughter at Estancia. “We know a lot of

these parents and ones we don’t, we’re meeting.”

The turnout was better than many expected, said Mehgan Fay, associated

student body president. Fay, who came with a graduate from last year,

said she was having a great time visiting with former Estancia teachers.

Although senior Araceli Ibarra, a member of the color guard, didn’t have

as much time to mingle, she liked the school pride that the night

entailed.

“It’s fun to be with everyone and eat,” she said. “I think it gets them

into the the spirit of the game.”

But to the administrators it was about more than just the fun and the

game.

“We hope that it will get the community behind the school and really see

that Estancia is the kind of place that they want their kids to go to,”

said Tim Parsel, Estancia athletic director.