As I arrived at Ford Field on Saturday to watch my alma mater, Dakota High School, play in the Division 1 state football finals, my expectations were low.

I didn't think Dakota would come out with a win, seeing as it was the school's first appearance in the finals and its opponent was Rockford, which had won the last two state titles and has a lot of kids with more facial hair than I have now.

And I didn't think I'd be all that excited by the game, seeing as I don't recognize any of the names on the jerseys anymore and my expectations had been raised by rooting for a real football team (kind of) for the last four years. I figured I left my high school allegiances behind when I graduated, along with my letter jacket and my midnight curfew.

But as Dakota stormed to a 14-0 lead and I watched its student section buzz with excitement, it all came back to me again.

I remembered my senior year of high school, when Dakota made it to the state semifinals and my weekends — nay, my life! — hinged on every pass, every tackle and every high note by the marching band's tuba player. I miss having that kind of enthusiasm.

When Dakota finished off an improbable 38-16 blowout and its players were presented their trophy, I couldn't help but think of Kyle Cook and John Stipek, two Dakota graduates who've gone on to play at MSU. I'm sure they were in the crowd somewhere, smiling just as wide as the players on the field because in some small way, this was a victory for them, too, for the players before them, for all of us who never even put on a jersey but helped take a school built 11 years ago, give it a personality and turn it into an institution on the football field and in the classroom and everywhere else. This win was a beautiful display of the power of community.

I'm not saying I'm going to dust off that letter jacket and start wearing it around campus now.

But maybe Bon Jovi's right. Maybe you can go home again.

Tom Keller is the State News sports editor. He can be reached at kellert1@msu.edu.