The Bonduel boys basketball team fell just short of a WIAA title Saturday, but the joyful reverberations of its near-perfect season continue to pace the town.
“People asked me if it’s ok to pray for a basketball team,” Deacon Todd said at St. Martin’s Sunday morning mass. “I told them it’s ok to pray for them as long as you know the other team is praying too … and they’re a Catholic school.”
That got a good chuckle from the faithful assembly. Most of them had followed Bonduel’s historic run, and watched the Division 4 state championship game Saturday afternoon. Several wore Bonduel Bears shirts to church the next day, in support of their team.
They knew it wasn’t necessarily Aquinas’ faith affiliation, but their hot hands (Aquinas shot a blistering 58.5% from the floor) that led the Bluegolds to the 74-45 win.
Still, a parade welcomed the Bears back to town Saturday night, just as it had sent them off on Friday.
The Mill, Bonduel’s cool coffee house, hung a fresh new sign to welcome the team home, and owner Nicole Fischer live-streamed the homecoming parade.
The mood at the Mill Sunday morning reflected cheerful gratitude for the kind of season that gives a town hope and a refreshing sense of community. Two of the starting players on Bonduel — Cade Johnson and Carter Moesch — work part-time at the Mill.
Bonduel State Bank plowed snow from its front lawn and spray painted the team’s logo there. They also decorated their windows with hand painted signs.
Antlers, the local supper club, posted a Go Bears sign in its parking lot, as did World Wide Sign Systems, the local sign shop.
The sign in front of St. Paul’s Lutheran School that announced the school would be closed Thursday and Friday also read Go Bears.
Local businesses hosted viewing parties, sponsored buses for students to ride to Madison and altered their hours to support the Bears.
DotCom Branding in Shawano opened early on Saturday morning to print extra shirts for Bonduel fans.
We watched the game with some local fans, including Madge, who graduated from Bonduel High School 50 years ago, and Chissy, her daughter, also a Bonduel Alumnus.
We all agreed heading into the game that Bonduel had won already, regardless of the final score. Sports have a way of galvanizing we humans when we need it most.
During these contentious political days, it felt really good to cheer for something the whole area supported.
Congratulations to the Bonduel Bears on earning their first ever state championship appearance, and to the hometown that supported them all along the way.
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So correct on the next to last paragraph.