There is just something special about high school sports, especially on a Friday night.

I can almost hear the music. Not the classic rock blaring from my car’s speakers but an almost symphonic crescendo as I drive down a country road or state road during the failing sunlight toward my Friday evening destination with an anticipation of that first sighting of the lights. Not quite the music that plays during the small town caravans of fans driving to the next town to see the Hickory Huskers play in the movie “Hoosiers,” but similar.

Then, there they are. I clear that last farmhouse or grove of trees that obstructed the view, and I can see the light stanchions that sparkle in the distance, illuminating that nearly perfect rectangle of green on which two football teams will compete that evening.

There is a certain sense of exhilaration at that sight that accompanies the smile that crosses my face.

Part of that is the excitement that goes with being in attendance at a football game. There is just something about a small town gathering as a community to root on their sons to victory or to support them in defeat.

The pomp and circumstance of the high school football game bring tremendous visuals. The cheerleaders create the tunnel for the team to run through, the marching band in formation to play the school song and the national anthem, and the loyal fans in the stands clad in their school colors.

This all leads to the orchestra of sounds that go with the football game.

The booming voice of the public address announcer calling out the starting lineups, the names of the latest ball carrier, and reminding fans of what delicacies await them at their nearest concession stands, the crowd cheering as one voice when their favorite son breaks off a big play, completes the third-down pass, or breaks the plane of the goal line, the popping of the pads and the band playing the school song after a score all combine to create that orchestra and it is beautiful.

These sounds are all too often overlooked as part of the charm of sports, and they are not limited to football.

There is the unmistakable ping of the well struck golf shot, the grunt of the tennis player upon delivery of the serve, the impact of the foot to the soccer ball on a free kick, the footfalls of the cross country runner completing the final mile and the distinct “thump-thump” of a perfectly hit spike of the volleyball into the floor.

And, in this particular fall, even the occasional screams of “call it both ways” from a disgruntled fan are welcomed notes in this musical work of art we call “sports.”

Certainly, the sights draw the focus of our eyes, but the musical accompaniment of sports is worth noting. Check out the concert next time you’re at the game.