Nobles Day
Image courtesy of Milton Academy Flickr
By ELINA MRAZ ‘21
With countless parents and classmates out on the fields, Milton-Nobles Day is the best game day of the year for Milton Athletics. It’s a weekend you don’t want to miss between a rivalry that has lived for over 100 years.
This year’s competition between Milton and Nobles athletes was extremely fierce. Ollie Clark ‘21, who plays on Boys’ Varsity Soccer, stated: “Nobles Day is the most exciting day of the year! I enjoy the added energy from the fans most of all.” Eleanor Raine, who plays on Varsity Field Hockey, said that “unlike Parents’ Day games, where everyone’s parents are running around and it’s more stressful, I think Nobles Day allows all the students to rally around each other. Since it is the last game for the seniors and of the season, everyone is giving everything they’ve got and putting everything they have out there which is really powerful.” Sam Bevins, a dedicated Milton sports fan, says, “my favorite part about Nobles Day is seeing the camaraderie of Milton students supporting each other. I love seeing people I’ve never seen watch a Milton sports game before coming to watch the games. I think it’s a beautiful day to be a Milton student and to experience the tight knit and supportive community that Milton truly is.”
While campus was flooded with parents, students, and athletes, the Cross Country teams were at the New England Championships, held in North-Central Massachusetts. As a result, some did not feel as involved in the spirit of Nobles Day. Mr. Bland joins in this sentiment and wishes the Cross Country meet was on campus and maybe even had the finish line on the football field during half time.
Mr. Bland says, “it’s as much a celebration of Milton as it is a competition.” He loves “the feeling of school unity and spirit” that the rivalry generates. When he thinks about the rivalry, his mind goes to his family, namely his father and mother who went to Milton and his uncle (his father’s twin brother) who went to Nobles. Consequently, his family was very involved in this rivalry, and he still has a fun back and forth with his uncle every year around this day. Back to Milton’s students, Mr. Bland loves the moments where we visually demonstrate our spirit and as a community are committed to being one school and having a sense of pride to be representing Milton.
Coaches also generally have positive feelings towards Nobles Day. Chris Kane, the boys soccer coach, says “Milton-Nobles Day is always an exciting time for the school and for our teams. It is a great chance for our community to come together and for our athletes to feel the connection to all of the students and athletes who have come before them. It is also a wonderful chance to honor our seniors for all that they have given the program over their time at Milton. For our soccer team, this game has always been one we look forward to as Nobles is always a talented team and the game is always an exciting one. It will be particularly exciting this year as the winner of the game will be crowned ISL champion. We will work hard to play our best and to compete as a team and are excited about this incredible opportunity.”
Brittany Carr, Varsity Field Hockey coach, mentions that “The rivalry between MAFH & NGFH is extremely competitive. In most seasons, we have had a close back and forth game with the outcome often coming down to one play late in the game that decides it. Each year our two teams battle hard. It typically does not matter what team has had a better season or what team is hosting, both teams show up and compete from start to finish. Nobles had managed to take all the close ones as of late. This year we came out strong. We had a 1-0 lead at halftime and after relinquishing our lead early in the second half, we continued to battle and added 3 more goals to win 4-1! We played well as a team this year. We put together a good 60 minutes of field hockey and didn't let up until the horn sounded to end the game.”
In addition to Milton, Nobles also has some pre-game day traditions such as a fun assembly with videos and performances, a t-shirt sale, and Jean day. Olivia Hayward from Nobles says, “Our SLC (student life council) representatives design Nobles-Milton game-day t-shirts that we can purchase on the Friday before rivalry weekend. The student run athletic committee: dawg pound, also hypes up the community during assembly and covers all the games and races on the Instagram, using the popular hashtag #Defendthecastle (because our cafeteria/main building on campus looks like a castle)!”
Milton can be very focused on all the amazing aspects that make each one of us different, but Nobles Day draws the school together when we are usually each off doing our own things. Mr. Bland says that “We are Milton” celebrates what unites us rather than what makes us different, an aspect which is also great. Milton can also be very intense academic wise, so Nobles Day is a moment where we can let loose, laugh, and have fun. Mr. Bland would like to remind us that it is important to remember that while striving to win a game or do well in school, it is also important to have some fun in our live