Glory Road

It's State Championship season up here in Ellsworth, Maine and all the Ellsworth High School winter sports teams have been making the 45 minute trek up Route 1A, by the busload, to the big city of Bangor to compete.

There are plenty of roads in and out of Ellsworth, but 1A is, by far, the most traveled. It connects us to Bangor (and the Interstate) to the North and Bar Harbor (and Acadia) to the South. And, at this time of year, the community traditionally shows it's athletes a sign of support (many many signs, in fact) all along the 5 mile stretch of 1A through Ellsworth on the way to Bangor.

Signs of all shapes and sizes are painstakingly tacked up to the telephone poles along the side of the road. Signs in the shapes of basketballs, and cheer megaphones. Signs in support of the wrestling team, and the swim team. Each one with the names (and sometimes numbers) of the players on each of the "Screaming Eagles" teams, and their coaches.

And the support must be working because, so far this season, Ellsworth has finished third in the state in wrestling, second in cheerleading and (for the first time in the history of the school) won the state championship in swimming. The basketball team plays Orono for the hoops title on Saturday. And with the strong show of support they're getting from the community of Ellsworth, I have no doubt that they'll be driving back down 1A, with that championship trophy held high.