This rainbow ride of athletic excellence running like a current through Waterford continues to add volts, evidenced by this little nugget unearthed Friday:

If Waterford wins the state high school football championship — the journey begins at home Tuesday night — it will become the first school since the CIAC began its football playoff system in 1976 to win titles in The Big Three (football, basketball, baseball) in the same calendar year.

Matt Fischer, the Director of Technology Services at CIAC, confirmed as much Friday, noting the distinction between the same school year and the same calendar year. The Lancers would have won basketball in March, baseball in June and football in December — quite the feat anywhere, but almost fictional at a little old public school with but 430 boys.

And yet here we are, watching history's potential.

The wake of Thursday's wild 35-34 win over East Lyme produced a number of thoughts, not the least of which was a conversation from the summer yours truly had with Chris Muckle and Jerry Sullivan, whose tattoos of the Lancer logo suggest their undying love of the town and the school. Sully and Muck, instrumental figures in Waterford youth football, were very concerned not that long ago that football — on youth and high school levels — might not survive in Waterford much longer. They cited a cocktail of declining numbers because of potential injury to repeated seasons of losing.

And there they were Thursday with quite the crowd at the Birdseye, watching The Day's livestream of the game, celebrating a seminal day in Waterford sports history. This wasn't long removed from the town's 10-year-old youth team making a playoff run earlier this month, offering more hope.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed that the success of our 10s and the high school team helps the whole Waterford program next year," Sullivan said. "We need to keep getting more kids involved."

My travels in and out of the region often invite the following question: What's in the water in Waterford? How can such a small town be the backbone for statewide success in so many sports?

The answer: Muck and Sully. And others named Beaney, Bono, Johnson, Mariani, Laffey, Jones and on the band plays. People who have no children left playing any of these sports, yet continue to volunteer their time. Because it's their town. Their school. They care. They want the kids today to have the same advantages their kids did. It's the very essence of community.

The same is true in Waterford baseball. It's show unto itself at the Waterford Babe Ruth Field at the end of a game. Suddenly, 20 guys emerge from nowhere, watering the field, lining it, cleaning the concession stand, restrooms ... and then perhaps partaking of a lemonade later.

This is why they win. The townsfolk care beyond their own self-interest. Our kids are your kids. Your kids are ours.

"Someone did it for me when I played," Muckle said. "I believe in giving back. I know from what I do (a corrections officer) that kids need structure and how important it is. I tell my kids that at some point, I expect them to give back, too."

Sullivan: "I talk to adults our age who went through the programs and they all mention the dads who helped us. Mr. Strecker, Mr. Witty, Mr. Miller, and all the others we looked up to. We've kind of become them."

And so Tuesday night, the turfed lawn of Waterford will be illuminated for the postseason. A two-hour infomercial for the program. The event is as big as the outcome. Little kids throughout town couldn't help themselves Thursday watching such a wonderful game and dreaming they'd be out there one day, too. This is how is begins.

"We coached most of these kids. John (Waterford coach John Strecker) and his staff have done a great job," Muckle said. "A great bunch of guys. He's interested in building a relationship between the youth program and the high school. That's huge."

Sullivan said, "Streck will tell you himself. It went from nobody showing up to the weight room, to a couple of kids to now they're all showing up every day. It's great for all of us. Look, I was a Waterford Tiger. I played all the way up through high school. Streck and I and his brothers were all parts of the same teams in youth and high school. My kids played through the programs. I love giving back. I enjoy when Chris and I come up to the high school games and the kids come up to us and hug us and say, 'hey coach, how are ya.' I hope this is the start of something big."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro