California school superintendent Dwight Sanders was surprised by the large turnout at last week's meet-and-greet between the Pintos football team and community members in the high school commons area.
To be more precise, he was pleasantly surprised.
"When I got here, I could hardly find a parking spot," Sanders said on Thursday, Nov. 20. "Even with short notice, we still have a lot of folks coming out to support our boys. It's neat to see the little Pintos getting autographs and things from our players. It's a cool deal."
The event, which was set up by the Quarterback Club and president J. Gump, was put together to help build community support for the Pintos heading into their Class 3 state semifinal at Oak Grove on Friday night. California ended up losing to the Panthers, 49-14, ending its season at 13-1.
"Seeing this kind of community support for the players is great," said Gump, whose son, Brandan, is a junior on the football team. "We really didn't know how it would go. We haven't done something exactly like this, so it was hard to guess. In my mind, it's a bigger turnout than I thought, especially on a school night with other activities going on."
After practice and a team meal, California players put on their uniforms and sat at tables throughout the commons area. Fans and community members were allowed to get autographs and photos with players and coaches. Among the items autographed were footballs, helmets, jerseys, team photos and homemade signs.
The biggest smiles at the event came from younger fans, some of whom wore Pintos uniforms themselves.
"They're really into it," Sanders said. "Having an opportunity to meet the Pinto football players would be like an adult meeting an NFL player or something. It's neat. Watching our high school kids interacting with the younger Pintos is pretty cool, also."
California head coach Marty Albertson signed some autographs, too.
"To have the young kids come out and see all the players is super," Albertson said. "This is really neat for the kids and the community. I can remember when my kids were little and they looked up to the high school players and idolized them. Hopefully, these kids are doing the same and our kids are good examples for them."
Pintos senior Allan Burger also enjoyed the event.
"It's really cool to meet the younger kids, sign autographs and meet them face-to-face," Burger said. "A lot of times, they see us with our helmets on. It's cool for them to see that we're actually real people. When I was younger, I always thought it was interesting to see football players out-of-uniform and watching what they do.
"We've had great success and I don't want it to end after this season. I want the kids to see it and hopefully they'll take after us. Hopefully, we've been good role models for future generations."