So much to do, so little time. Starting with “storm” before they even leave for the stadium, student football players get prepped and ready to play football. For about three hours every Friday before the game, players go through a series of rituals to help prepare for Friday Night Lights.

“Pre-game is very important and has a big impact on how we play,” senior Terrell Cooper said. “If we have a very good pre game, it really reflects on how we play.”

It all starts with storm. Storm is the quiet time that players get in the lecture room for home games, and on the bus for away games. Usually it’s quiet and dark. It gives the student athletes a chance to get mentally prepared for the game ahead of them. They listen to music, or go over game plan, or anything that helps them get prepped for the game.

“Storm has more effect on our game than people realize,” Cooper said. “I personally like to listen to music that helps me get my mind right and play hard.”

When they arrive at the stadium, the players go to the locker room and get dressed for pregame walk through. This process allows the players to have the plays fresh in their minds right before the game and it also helps get the blood flowing and legs going.

“We usually spend more time on this than anything else,” senior Andrew Barr said. “Walk through is very important to the coaches and the players alike.”

Lastly, the players enter the locker room again to get their minds right before the opening kickoff. They listen to music and get hyped up. Everything is wrapped up by a prayer, then they are off! The players head out to the field and they get into the blimp. The final pregame hype moment is when the football players say the team motto, “FOURTH and 1.” The ‘F’ stands for Fight, the ‘O’ stands for ownership, the ‘U’ stands for unity, the ‘R’ stands for relentless, the ‘T’ stands for trust, and the ‘H’ stands for honor.

“Even though rituals are very important, in the long run, we just have to go up to the plate, and play ball,” Terrell Cooper said.