• Monica Amaro was attending a marching band competition in Texas to support her daughter when she noticed an unusual sight.
• His daughter’s rival high school football team showed up together, in uniform, to watch the group.
• Amaro, ‘a kid in the band myself,’ tells PEOPLE she knows ‘the importance of this and how rare a sight it was’

The stands of high school footballThe games are usually filled with fans and the players’ families, as well as the school’s marching band and cheerleaders. But what you rarely see is the football team showing up to cheer on the marching band.

TikTok user Monica Amaro shared an example of a local soccer team doing just that. While attending the UIL Texas Regional Marching Band Competition in Abilene, Texas, she noticed that a group of football players, all dressed in their team’s jerseys, were showing up to support the UIL Marching Band. ‘school.

“As a band kid myself, I knew the importance of this and how rare a sight it was,” Amaro shares with PEOPLE.

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Amaro was attending the competition to support his daughter’s marching band, even though it wasn’t his daughter’s high school football team that was in attendance – it was actually their rivals’. She said the Roscoe High School football team has been rallying to support the marching band during its competitions for about six years now.

“I’ve competed in a lot of competitions in my time and was even a state marching band champion,” Amaro adds, “and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Jake Freeman, head football coach and athletic director at Roscoe High School, was a member of both the marching band and football team when he attended the high school where he now works. Speaking to PEOPLE, he says it was incredibly common when he went to high school in 1992, because “the band wasn’t just a side act.”

“It was respected, celebrated and cherished. Just like football, band required commitment, hours of practice and intense focus,” he says. “I put as much heart into band practice as I did on the field, and that feeling of community support, of being valued, was something I felt in my heart.”

Freeman says he’s been bringing the football team to support the band at their competitions for five years, “Because without the band, Friday nights just aren’t the same.”

“Their music and their energy light up the whole atmosphere. They support us, and it’s only natural that we support them in return,” he continues.

“It’s not just about showing up: it’s about teaching my musicians to value what the band does, to recognize the blood, sweat and practice they put into their craft. I want my team to see discipline, teamwork and dedication. They understand that the band is as essential to our spirit as any play we put on.

Amaro herself congratulated the Roscoe High School football team, saying, “The whole football team showed up, sat in the stands and cheered for their group. It made me emotional and I knew it would touch others.

“Going through the comments, it’s obvious that this is rare and it honestly healed something in the hearts of these old group kids (the commenters), who thought they’d never see something like this,” Amaro continues of of its reach on TikTok. “It says a lot about this school and their pride, community and support for each other.”

“It’s bigger than football. I’m trying to raise young men who understand respect, who know the power of a positive word, who see what encouragement can do – not just for a teammate but for the group members who are there and working hard on them. Freeman said. “I still remember what it was like to hear my friends in the stands calling my name, to feel their support when I needed it most. I want every student to feel the same sense of support.