Every year, the city’s businesses and officials honor the football and cheerleading captains of Lynn’s four high school football teams, and every year we take a picture of them all and run it above this column.It might strike some as gaudy ? all those people ? a sea of humanity, without any focal point and without any apparent purposes. Just a bunch of kids and a few adults, standing around.One year, one of my former editors told me just exactly how gaudy and purposeless it was, too. He said it was ugly and oppressive, and that it violated every standard of professional graphic design.I couldn’t have disagreed more then, and would still respectfully disagree now (obviously).First, we’re a local paper, and this is what we do. Second, it is the only way one can truly appreciate the magnitude of student participation in the fabric of what we call life in the City of Lynn.And it’s especially true these days, when all you have to do is open up the paper and see story after story of violence and degradation. It serves as a reminder that not everyone in Lynn has chosen the wrong path. Some kids still prefer the old-fashioned virtues of commitment, discipline, hard work and good, clean, nurturing fun.Last year, at the Item football dinner, current English coach Peter Holey – a Lynn police officer who has worked on the anti-gang unit – spoke to the players and told them, straight out, “The gang members I see ? they couldn’t do what you do. They’re nowhere near as tough as you are. They could never discipline themselves and make the commitment that you make.”Obviously, those words struck me, as I’m recounting them here, almost a year later. But as we prepare to go our divergent ways on Thanksgiving, and root for our teams, let us give thanks to kids like these, who have made the sacrifices necessary so that we do have teams to support and traditions to uphold.Outgoing school superintendent Nick Kostan, attending his last luncheon in that capacity (but certainly not the last one ever), waxed philosophical on his views of sports and athletics.”They are so much a part of what goes into being a student,” Kostan said. “They are very much a part of school life.”As he leaves, Kostan says he’s very happy that the City of Lynn has never talked about instituting a user fee for playing sports.”I’d never support it,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine asking a kid to pay to play sports in high school. Especially in a city like Lynn, where so many kids come from financial hardship.”The reason these fees should be opposed is obvious: athletics, particularly – perhaps – in inner cities keep kids in school.”A lot of kids,” he says, “look forward to playing sports in high school. They’re a big part of getting them here.”One can only hope that the economic climate in the city doesn’t become so dire that the school department cannot support a sports program, because they are absolutely vital.Former Patriots safety Roland James, who played on the 1985-86 AFC champion team, was the guest speaker. And rather than talk about his professional exploits, James chose to speak of his days playing high school football ? and his days coaching it at Sharon High.”I used to tell my seniors before Thanksgiving that they wouldn’t understand the significance of their last-ever game until it was over,” he said. “And a lot of times, the kids would come back to me and say I was right ? that they couldn’t appreciate it until it was over.”Several speakers yesterday remembered former Senate Majority Leader Walter J. Boverini, who has taken ill and could not attend. Boverini, who also coached at St. Mary’s and Lynn English, has been a fixture at these events over the years.”He had a lot of influence over my life,” said St. Mary’s coach Matt Durgin. “I just want to make sure he’s remembered today.”Cheerleader and football captains honored yesterday were:Tech: Anthony Gallo, football; Elyse Rullan, cheerleaders; Andrea Ogle, cheerleader coach; Gary Sverker, football coach.St. Mary’s: Br