VERO BEACH – Mike Henderson has never missed a Vero Beach High School football since he was 5 years old.
“I’m not going to miss (today),” said Henderson, 76, as he sat waiting for the Magic Carpet Ride fan bus to head out for Miami.
The Vero Beach High School football team will play in the Dec. 13 Florida High School Athletic Association state championship game. This is the first time Vero Beach has been in the FHSAA final game since 1981.
Vero Beach (14-0) will play Lake Mary (11-3) in the Class 7A state championship game.
Henderson’s father was Herb “Bull” Henderson, who was the team captain for Vero Beach High School in 1946-47, when Vero Beach won its first undefeated state championship.
Henderson’s father started taking him to the games, starting a family tradition that continues today. Henderson rode the bus with his brother, Mitch, and his brother’s great grandchildren, Kynleigh Owens, 8, and Brenden Smith, 9.
“The whole family is Vero Beach Fighting Indians football fans,” Henderson said.
Fans started arriving for the 3 p.m. bus at 1:30 p.m. Dressed in Vero Beach High School red and black, the Vero Beach contingent was ready to cheer for a win. Bus riders brought pom poms, signs supporting Vero Beach and seat cushions. Two 56-seat Magic Carpet Ride buses set out from the former Kmart off U.S. 1. Tickets for the round-trip bus cost $75.
“We’ve got to support the boys,” said Lekesha Weems.
And losing is not an option.
“They’re doing a pickup (of the championship trophy),” explained Toni Allston, whose father is Joe Moore, the team’s chaplain. “It’s theirs all along. We’re just going to go pick it up for them.”
Allston, Weems and their family traveling on the bus wore custom shirts “I believe. I can do. I will do. I will overcome.”
Some of the fans are traveling in groups, others with a family member. While many are strangers, they have one common tie binding them – supporting the team.
The bus ride began with a cheer and chant, “Go Vero!”
Some, such as Barbara Moore of Ohio, attended the noon sendoff of the team buses before coming to pick up her own ride.
“It was great,” said Moore about standing at the State Road 60 intersection. “We were one of the last ones to wish them well.”
Moore has season tickets to the games, and never misses one, even though she has no long-term ties to the team or the high school.
“We just like football,” she said.
On the second fan bus was Ed Witkowski, a 1978 Vero Beach High School graduate, and his friend Dessie Bell, a 1976 graduate. Witkowski said he has been a season ticket holder for 47 years. He was at the 1981 state championship game, remembering having to arrive two hours early to get their seats.
Witkowski remembered when former Coach Billy Livings arrived in Vero Beach.
“I thought, we might actually win,” he said.
Bell used to sit on the visitor’s side when he attended games. He said he prayed last night over the team and the buses.
Attending the games are a fun time, the bus riders said.
“I’m very excited (about seeing the state championship), ” said Henderson, who also attended Thursday’s pep rally for the team. “I like Vero Beach. It reminds me of a small college with the turnout and the fan support.”
Colleen Wixon is the Indian River County government watchdog reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Fan buses, school spirit heading to Miami to cheer Fighting Indians