Eternal gratitude for an unforgettable season

Thank you for bringing us along for the ride, Waseca Bluejays football.

And what a ride it was. 

To win 12 games in a row is impressive. 

And to qualify for the school's first-ever football state championship game - a once-in-a-lifetime experience, some might say. 

Saturday didn't go the way we wanted, a 17-7 loss to undefeated Annandale in the state title game. 

In the end, the 2025 Waseca football season will not be forgotten. 

The Bluejays were a special group. 

This team qualified for only its fifth-ever state tournament, going further than any football team in school history. 

Give credit to Waseca, its coaching staff, players, and its incredible community supporters. 

After the game, sitting in the post-game press conference room, reporters were asked if they had a final question for coach Brad Wendland or his players. 

"During that first game of the season, could you see yourselves playing for a state championships?" 

"I certainly didn't. A 7-6 win at St. Peter didn't give me high hopes for the season.

"Boy was I wrong.

"I've never been happier to have been proven wrong."

An important message from a proud football mom:
"To our high school football team: 

"I am a mom of four boys, ranging from fourth grade to ninth who play football. Four boys who watch you. Four boys who see you go to and from practice as they get dropped off for their own. Four boys who watch you put in the work in the weight room. Four boys who wee you leave the locker room tired, sweaty, bodies beat up. Boys who watch you play under Friday night lights, who line up in the tunnel with high fives and hopes of victory; who stand at the goal line with hands on hearts during the National Anthem alongside their own youth teammates who will, one day, stand where you stand on that field. I want you to know, win or lose, they see you. They. See. You. 

"On Saturday, my youngest was shaking with excitement and anticipation for a game his Bluejay football team was about to play at U.S. Bank Stadium. In his Bluejay gear, bouncing around on his purple chair he said to me, 'Mom, I don't care if they win, this is so cool. This is such a cool experience.' To him, on that day, you were the young men he got to see all season put in the work. The young men who stopped to give him a high five after practice and then again when you ran through the tunnel during Friday night home games. The young men who gave him "knucks" as they left the locker room walking out to your cars. The young men he cheered for on Saturday morning as the buses went by. The young men whose numbers he memorized so he could cheer you on by name when he saw you on that field. I know the loss on Saturday was hard. harder on all of you, no question. But please hear me. This mom wants you to know...to him, you are forever champions, a seed sown of greatness, strength and perseverance; a product of hard work rooted in community. To him, you are the young man he one day hopes to be. To him, you are heroes. And for that this mom is eternally grateful." 

As are we all.