We've got a new feature on First News this fall that you may have noticed on Friday mornings. It's called Matchup Mania: we send reporters or weather people out to two high schools who are playing football against each other that night. The goal was to get students, football players and teachers to come out early in the morning to show their school spirit. Keep in mind, we're talking about 5-7 am in the morning. In other words: very, very early. You haven't let us down. We have been overwhelmed with the response so far.

Last Friday morning, I went to Northeast High School in Kansas City to highlight the annual Northeast-Southeast matchup. As you can imagine, at 5 am I was pretty lonely. In fact, I had to resort to doing the world's all-time worst cheerleader jump to show some spirit. But by 5:15 am, the first football player showed up and by 5:40, we had about 10. By 6 am, we had a loud group of players, cheerleaders and some teachers. I want to thank everyone who came out so early... It was a blast.

I have to admit, I love high school football. The high school I attended had a strong football program, so I have a lot of great memories of watching exciting regular season and playoff football games. Even if your school doesn't have the best team, the football game is still the place to be on fall Friday nights, particularly in smaller towns. What a great way to bring a community together. You might have bigger crowds at pro and college games, but you won't have greater enthusiasm.

Matchup Mania will continue through the regular season, so stay tuned for more fun and excitement on Friday mornings. We've seen some great school spirit so far. The question is: Can the schools over the next few weeks top it? I'm putting out a call for people in crazy wigs and painted faces. Look, I know it's early, but face paint looks even better at 5 am. Trust me. See you on Friday!