The sights and sounds of football are embedded in the fabric of America.
"I'm proud to be an American," said Kelli Shak.
Fourteen years after 9/11, patriots remain united for a number of reasons. Friday night in Joshua, football brings them in by the thousands.
"It's bringing our community together, bringing our country together," said Shak. "And uniting us – remember, we need to stand strong and united."
Before the Joshua High School Owls and Royce City High School Bulldogs faced off Friday, a skydive team dropped in with an American flag and the game ball in hand. One of those skydivers was Maj. Henry Schraeder, a retired airman who remembers Sept. 11, 2001, like it was yesterday.
"There's just no word to describe it," said Schraeder, who skydives for Skydive Tandem Greenville. "There's just no word to describe it days after, when you watched the video replays over and over and over again."
Many of the students at Friday night's game were very young, and some not even born yet, in 2001.
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But their pride was strong and their flags flew high at the game.
Canaan Barton was just 7 years old in 2001. Now, he's a Joshua firefighter and U.S. Marine reserve. He hopes his kids never forget the significance of 9/11.
"I want them to take this into account," said Barton. "I want them to learn from it, hopefully to change the world with it one day. Not just my grandkids but their friends for generations."
