It’s the end of August. School is back in session.

The summer winds down to Labor Day, the unofficial beginning of fall.

It is that time again, when communities build bragging rights to be tested once a week on a 100-yard piece of turf.

It is football season.

For the next two months — and hopefully, beyond — Demopolis and the myriad high schools will be defined by wins and losses, yards and tackles, performance, playoffs and pride.

We encourage community members to attend at least the home games and lend support to your local high schools.

Applaud not only the football players but also the cheerleaders and band members as well. Thank those who work at the concession stands for giving that most valuable commodity, their time.

A football game is a mixture of students who have worked hard to perform well, whether they are players, cheerleaders or band members.

It is a blend of volunteer workers, from ticket sellers to concession vendors to band and cheerleader assistants to public address announcers.

They all work hard to showcase community pride at one of its most visible levels: the football game.

Is athletics more important than academics?

Of course not. But it is important as a means for the community to show its colors and come together to exhort itself week-by-week towards the goal line of that utmost measure of pride: a state.