If you drive down Erie Street in Youngstown, Ohio, you may see any number of things: houses, litter, an occasion pedestrian crossing the street. But if you linger just a little longer, you will come across a school. It doesn't look like anything special from the outside and it won't look like it was built anytime within the last 20 years, but if you are like me and have had the privilege to walk its halls, this small school on Erie Street, Cardinal Mooney High School, is like a second home. Anyone that has gone to this school (for any amount of time) can relate to the following:
1. Football is life
Cardinal Mooney is without a doubt famous for our phenomenal football team. Even if you didn't go to Cardinal Mooney or now much about it, you know it has one of the best high school varsity football teams each year. Alumni come into town every year, or listen in on the radio wherever they are to games (especially against Ursuline) every year, and it's extremely rare to not see the fan section full at every home game.
2. The rivalry against Ursuline never dies
Anyone who went to Mooney, Ursuline, or is from the Mahoning Valley area in general knows of the rivalry between Mooney and Ursuline. Some people even make room in their schedules so that they can attend the Ursuline Rally in late October before the homecoming game. My grandmother went to Ursuline and sent all of her children to Mooney, which kind of makes visiting her after a Mooney win a bit awkward...at least for her.
3. The teachers pushed you to do your best
Every single teacher that I had at Cardinal Mooney always made sure that I was on the top of my game. I would have never gotten the score that I had on the AP Lit exam if Miss Bacha hadn't pushed me, and my classmates, to do our best. The speech and debate team would make it to state and national tournaments each year if Diane Mastro Nard (and the other coaches) hadn't been willing to stay after school (sometimes until 9, 10 pm) to make sure that our cuts and timing were perfect.
4. 'Cardinal Mooney' is synonymous with 'Excellence'
Cardinal Mooney Alumni tend to go on to do great things in their individual fields of study. For example Broadway Producer Michael Moritz Jr. was a Mooney grad! As well as Ray "Boom Boom' Mancini, Bob Stoops, and Wayne Boncyk, who worked for NASA.
5. You still remember the lyrics to the Alma Mater.
Everyone that I come across that went to Mooney still knows the Alma Mater by heart. And if they don't, they were in the band and can still remember the notes. The Alma Mater was sung after every game, rally, baccalaureate,and graduation.
6. And the fight song
Yup, you probably still remember the fight song as well. Sung after every victory (so basically every game) and played as the football team enters and leaves rallies and games.
7. You knew everyone in your class by first name
Mooney is a relatively small school. If you google it, you will see that in the year of 2015-2016, there were only 476 students in attendance. My class (2014) only had a little more than 100 people. But small numbers mean that it is easier to get to know your fellow classmate, and it makes it easier for teachers to get to know you. I have plenty of friends who went to public schools and have told me that their teachers don't even recognize them in public. Whenever I run into an old teacher, they still remember my name, (along with my brother's, sister's, adn cousin's) and we talk for a good 5 minutes.
8. You bleed red and gold
Literally anytime someone mentions Cardinal Mooney or you see it in the news, a sense of pride washes over you. Once a cardinal, always a cardinal.
9. You know the importance of giving back to your community
Everyone that I have ever come across that is an alumni of Cardinal Mooney High School has always been kind and generous. Mooney grads always understand the importance of giving back, whether it be to Cardinal Mooney by supporting school functions such as sporting events and musicals and attending fundraising events, or giving back to the community in which they currently reside. People who went to Mooney understand that not everyone has the same opportunities in life and try to help out whenever and where ever they can.
10. There were people you hated, but at the end of the day, everyone had each others' backs
I can't even begin to list off the people who occasionally annoyed me when I went to Mooney. But when it came down to it, those people always had my back and vice versa. Whenever I see someone from my class I can't help but stopping whatever I am doing and sitting down to talk for a while.
And there you have it! If you went to Cardinal Mooney High School at any point in your life, you can surely relate to these 10 things (and possible more).
