Vote May Change Historic Long Valley Raiders Football Colors

The green and gold that has adorned football fields in Washington Township since 1973 may become history in the 2015 season.

The Long Valley Raiders Football Association, the program encompassing youth football in town from kindergarten flag football all the way up to eighth grade varsity players, have given their members the opportunity to vote on a uniform color change that would align the program’s colors with that of West Morris Central High School’s.

That vote, however, has come with angst and opposition.

The topic came up for discussion at the end of the 2013 season when the association was looking ahead to the time of new uniform purchases. In early 2014, football families past and present made their opposition to the idea well known, and the board kept the status quo.

But at a Jan. 8 board meeting, the organization went ahead with putting the vote to its member families – more than 200 of them – via online survey. The vote is to change the colors from green and gold to a Navy Blue, Columbia Blue, White combination, just as the West Morris Wolfpack football team has. The Long Valley Raiders name will remain the same regardless of how the vote goes.

In a letter to members, the LVRFA board mentioned it is the only youth sports team in the town that uses a green and gold color scheme, and just one of two programs out of 18 in the county that is not aligned with its correlating high school.

Those eligible to vote on the change are any families who had children participating in the football organization during the 2014 season, with each family receiving one vote. Voting began Jan. 9, the day after the board meeting, and ends at 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16.

While a color change to uniforms would not have any financial impact to players and their families, the same cannot be said for another organization – the Long Valley Raiders Cheerleading Association.

No Support for the Supporters

Of course a change in the Raiders football uniform would mean a change to their biggest supporters, the 116 cheerleaders who patrol the sidelines during the games.

Well, not exactly.

The Long Valley Raiders Cheerleading Association, led by Lisa Typrowicz, was not given the opportunity for its 40 families to vote on the color change, and if the vote is approved, won’t be wearing different uniforms in 2015.

“We were completely blindsided by this,” Typrowicz told Patch. “We were told last February the issue would be tabled until further notice. Then, all of a sudden, I received a letter Jan. 8 (from the LVRFA board) saying they were putting a vote to its members, and that the cheerleading organization would not be able to vote on the uniform change.”

Typrowicz said her organization won’t follow suit this year for a multitude of reasons, most notably the cost.

“It would cost us about $24,000 to outfit all our girls in new uniforms this upcoming season,” she said. “We don’t have that kind of money. We don’t stockpile funds. When we need something, we fundraise for it, make the purchase, and that’s it. I can’t tell these parents to put in more money for uniform changes they didn’t even have the opportunity to vote for.”

Typrowicz said the cheerleading association’s uniforms are new as of the 2012 season and there is no need for new ones at the current moment.

In early 2014, the LVRFA did offer to loan money to the LVRCA, Typrowicz said, but because the latter does not incur debt, they declined. The football organization also offered up a host of fundraising ideas and possibilities, but the cheerleading organization – operating under the assumption there would be no uniform change, Typrowicz said – declined to conduct additional events for funds not needed.

“My job is to make the program enjoyable and affordable,” Typrowicz said. “And then we have the tradition aspect of this entire situation. What are we teaching our kids, to not be unique? To change just because everyone else is changing? The way this is being handled is unacceptable.”

Typrowicz said she told the football board in 2014 any change to the cheerleading program’s uniforms would take between 18 and 24 months to fully implement. If the vote is approved, she doesn’t see a complete program change fully implemented until the 2017 season.

Online votes will be tallied after polls close Friday night and the decision will be finalized. If the vote does not pass, new uniforms won’t be necessary for another seven to 10 years, the LVRFA said. It is not yet known if the discussion would be brought up at that time.

See related stories:

• Vote May Change Historic Long Valley Raiders Football Colors
• Raiders Cheerleader: ‘Family’ Organization Deserves Vote on Uniform Change
• No One Has Right to Change Tradition, Varsity Raider Says

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