It did not matter who won the match between El Paso Eastwood and Plano – because the hate was lost.

See the pictures of this game here

FRISCO – Ruben and Nishani Puga had more than occasional participation in Thursday's high school football match at Star, not just because Ruben graduated from El Paso Eastwood and Nishani is a Plano alum. Ruben's sister works at a car dealership behind the Walmart, where an armed man killed 22 people. On August 3, the family knows some of the two dozen wounded.

The Pugas also have two daughters aged 14 and 11. Melia and Marissa wanted to know how such a thing could happen. The Pugas, who live in Plano, did not have good answers.

But they learned something this week, through messages on video boards and t-shirts, through seemingly countless gestures from the community: Jerry Jones shaking hands with everyone who came downstairs. an Eastwood bus.

"There is a lot of harm in this world," said Ruben, "but there is a lot more good."

The goodwill shown this week – including pre-game and post-game nights and a breakfast before the Troopers return to El Paso – made the match a 43-28 win over Plano, seemed almost anti-climax. That this happened was a story in itself.

Now, you may be aware that Plano ISD officials canceled the match for misguided reasons after the shooting. The Plano police have not cited any credible threat to justify the cancellation. District Superintendent Sara Bonser said she did not want to provide extremist groups with a platform for their messages.

It does not matter what Plano sends backwards, at least in the beginning. Safety should always be the first concern of responsible adults of children. But as long as adults do not have the courage to do something about armed violence in our society, what happened in El Paso, Odessa and Dayton will simply become the new normal. How we choose to live despite this is a lesson for our children.

They learned something important this week, but only after the intervention of Frisco ISD and Cowboys and a nationally scathing response on social media.

The heroes of this story are numerous. The officials of Frisco Lebanon Trail and Fort Worth at Arlington Heights have agreed to withdraw their game from the Star in order to respond to Plano's insistence on the safety of its facilities. Plano Kids designed "Texas Strong" t-shirts that sold for $ 20, with the proceeds being donated to charities chosen by Eastwood. The WFAA channel 8 reportedly collected $ 100,000 for the victims of El Paso and televised the match live. Dale Hansen even got up from his couch to go into the cabin.

The importance of football in Texas is sometimes exaggerated, especially for those of us who have anointed it as a state religion. However, there is also ample evidence to support the idea that football can be a rallying point for communities that desperately need healing.

And El Paso – a city in mourning not only lives lost in a Walmart, but the drowning of Eddie Cruz, star of the Eastwood star's reception last year – must be neat.

"What better way to do that than to play?" Tommy Gonzalez, director of the city of El Paso, had asked.

"It's Texas and football."

Randy Rangel, a 34-year-old trucker from El Paso, had already scheduled to go to Thursday's game. His brother, Robert, graduated from Eastwood in 1988, lives in Little Elm. What happened at the Walmart just three kilometers from the Eastwood campus simply gave an extra sense to his 1,200-kilometer journey.

"We are on the road to recovery," he said, "it's a major stepping stone."

Rangels said they were touched by the kindness shown by businesses, institutions and individuals in the Dallas area. "It's a gift after another," Randy said.

Robert understands the concerns of Plano officials. It is just sorry that adults got involved in the first place.

"We parents sometimes spoil this for children," he said.

If those directly affected by the El Paso tragedy have realized, it seems to be up to the rest of us to do the same. When I asked Ruben Puga what was the distance between the Eastwood campus and the Walmart, where a former Plano had killed about two dozen people, he replied that it was not so far.

He thinks a moment.

"Everything seems really close to El Paso," he said.

On a Thursday night in Frisco, El Paso seemed closer to normal. Perhaps it was the teams intertwined on the building sites during the national anthem. Or groups taking the field together at half-time. Or even Eastwood fans who enter the Star, a few stopping to shake hands with a soldier. Simon de la Cruz, a 13-year-old veteran, has already worked in West Texas, but this did not explain the courtesy. He assumed that they just wanted to express their gratitude for the work of the soldiers during the shooting.

"The people of West Texas," he said, "are like that."

The people of North Texas too. We learned so much this week. For once, it did not matter who won a high school football game. Hate is lost.

Twitter: @KSherringtonDMN

Editor 's Note: In this story, Tommy Gonzalez was originally responsible for the city of Frisco. He is the director of the city of El Paso. We regret this mistake.