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The first formation shown was of an "LZ". The ABC 7 helicopter flew over the stadium in order to to capture the images of the formation.

Fridays in the fall at high schools typically are full of excitement. But the opportunity to be on television brings another element of excitement.

Lake Zurich got it’s chance in the spotlight and was featured on the ABC 7 Chicago morning news as the first Friday Flyover of the year. During high school football season, ABC 7 Chicago visits high schools around the Chicagoland area on Friday mornings while the students at the schools assemble into formations on the football field.

“It’s super awesome. Everyone is having a great time together as a school for everyone to see,” Nicko Pinedo, sophomore, said at the event on September 7th.

The gates of the stadium opened at 5 am in order to be ready for the telecast. As an incentive for students to go, the school gave away t-shirts and donuts for the first 400 students who got to school. The shirts were red, white, and blue to match the student section theme for the day, and had “We Are LZ”, the school’s motto for the year, on the front.

The formations created were “LZ”, “BEARS”, and students standing around an American flag. The formations were the best part of the event because it was really cool to go back and see the formations later on TV, said Karlie Schwichtenberg, sophomore.

During the event some rain came through the area and the temperature was around 62 degrees. However, it didn’t make a difference at all, according to Pinedo.

On the other hand, some believed that the rain, cooler temperature, and early arrival time  put a damper on the whole thing, according to Schwichtenberg.

“I’m not a morning person so I didn’t like how it was so early. Also it was cold and raining and I hate being cold,” Schwichtenberg said. “It wasn’t bad, it was just my personal preferences.”

Despite the rain and early wake-up call, around 600 students showed up to support the school on live television. Overall, the event was a success because more students showed up than expected, Schwichtenberg said.

“By the time I got there, around 5: 30, there were no more t-shirts, but it was actually pretty cool that so many people came just to support the school,” Schwichtenberg said “I  also think it was good for the media [to see us] because I think Lake Zurich has had some not great media reports in the past, so I think that it was good for the public to see that the school is doing much better and we don’t have a bunch of people like that.”