The Buzz in Burleson, October 2, 2024
The Buzz in Burleson, October 2, 2024
Lady Spartans beat Lady Elks to take sole possession of first place, Spartans win first district game, plus, a feature on Burleson's Spider-Man
Help The Burleson Buzz bring local news back to Burleson by purchasing advertising space in the newsletter.
The Burleson Buzz offers paid articles and advertising plans—including a premium and standard option—to businesses sponsoring the publication.
What’s the Buzz in Burleson this week?
Weather
It’s going to be clear and sunny with highs between 88 and 92 degrees and lows between 63 and 65 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
News
Lady Spartans beat Lady Elks to take sole possession of first place. The first-place Centennial Lady Spartans (6-0 in district, 27-7 overall) beat the Burleson Lady Elks (5-1, 18-12) three sets to one Tuesday at Centennial High School.
Spartans win first district game as seniors Damien Long and Jaxon Williams each score twice. Wide receiver Long had seven catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Williams had 12 carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns as Centennial (1-0 in district, 3-2 overall) won its first district game of 2024.
Feature Story
The story of an ordinary Burleson resident who roams the streets dressed as Spider-Man.
Things to do around town:
Listen to live music. Jason Eady is playing Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Heim Barbecue.
Bowling league mixer. Alley Cats is hosting a “bowling league mixer” Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Alley Cats.
Farmers Market. The Burleson Farmers Market will be held Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Old Town.
Boogie with family. The city is hosting “Let's Boo-gie: Tiny Tots Rave” Friday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at City Hall.
70s Night. Lost Oak Winery is hosting “70s Night” Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the winery.
Watch Burleson Lady Elks volleyball. The second-place Burleson Lady Elks (5-1 in district, 18-12 overall) face the Joshua Lady Owls (4-1, 20-13) Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Burleson High School.
Watch Centennial Lady Spartans volleyball. The first-place Centennial Lady Spartans (6-0 in district, 27-7 overall) face the Mansfield Timberview Lady Wolves (3-2, 6-18) Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Centennial High School.
Watch Burleson Elks homecoming football. The Burleson Elks (0-2 in district, 1-3 overall) face the Grapevine Mustangs (0-3, 0-5) Friday at 7 p.m. at Burleson ISD Stadium in their 2024 homecoming game.
Sketch on a farm. Burleson Parks and Recreation hosts its “Saturday Morning Sketch Group” Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Chesapeake Building at Russell Farm Art Center.
Eat donuts with dogs. Burleson Parks and Recreation is hosting “Dogs and Donuts: Halloween Edition” Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Burleson Bark Park.
See a cat show. The Fort Worth Ares Cat Show and Adoption Event will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Burleson Event Center.
Celebrate Fall. The city is hosting “Fall Fest at the Farm” Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Russell Farm.
Support a local artist and writer. Danii Oliver, creator of a series of books about homeschooling, will be at Geek Out Saturday at noon.
2024 BTX Brewfest. BTX Brewfest will be held Saturday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Old Town.
Trunk-or-Treat Car Show. Torque Grill and Cantina is hosting a “trunk-or-treat” car show Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the restaurant.
Learn to can during homeschool. The city is hosting a homeschooling class to teach students how to can food Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Russell Farm.
Network at night. The Burleson Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting its monthly “Network@Night” event Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at NBT Financial.
Sip and decorate. Frosted Delights will be teaching people how to decorate “spooky cookies” Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Lost Oak Winery.
Watch more Lady Elks volleyball. The second-place Burleson Lady Elks (5-1 in district, 18-12 overall) face the Everman Lady Bulldogs (1-6, 8-13) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Everman High School.
Watch more Lady Spartan volleyball. The first-place Centennial Lady Spartans (6-0 in district, 27-7 overall) face the Cleburne Lady Yellow Jackets (2-4, 10-17) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Cleburne High School.
Upcoming local-government meetings
The Burleson City Council is meeting Monday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall
Lady Spartans beat Lady Elks to take sole possession of first place
BURLESON — The first-place Centennial Lady Spartans beat the Burleson Lady Elks three sets to one Tuesday at Centennial High School.
Centennial (6-0 in district, 27-7 overall)—now in sole possession of first place in District 8-5A—took the first two sets 25-21 and 25-16, respectively, before Burleson (5-1, 18-12) won the third 26-24 and Centennial won the fourth 25-17.
The game followed both Burleson and Centennial winning last week.
Junior Daelyn Cross led Burleson with 18 kills as the Lady Elks beat the Seguin Lady Cougars three sets to one Friday—winning the first two sets 25-11 and 25-7, respectively, before losing the third 25-18 and winning the fourth 25-16.
Senior Lauren Schneidmiller led Centennial with 17 kills as the Lady Spartans beat the Joshua Lady Owls three sets to two Friday—dropping the first set 25-17 before winning the second and third sets 27-25 and 25-23, respectively, losing the fourth 25-20 and winning the fifth 15-10
Burleson faces the Joshua Lady Owls (4-1, 20-13) Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Burleson High School.
Centennial faces the Mansfield Timberview Lady Wolves (3-2, 6-18) Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Centennial High School.
Long and Williams each score pair of touchdowns as Spartans win first district game
CLEBURNE — Damien Long and Jaxon Williams each scored two touchdowns as the Centennial Spartans beat the Cleburne Yellow Jackets 38-28 Friday at Yellow Jacket Stadium.
The senior wide receiver Long had seven catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns and one 25-yard run, and senior running back Williams had 12 carries for 57 yards and two touchdowns as Centennial (1-0 in district, 3-2 overall) won its first district game of 2024.
Williams put the Spartans on the board first with a nine-yard touchdown run to give Centennial a 7-0 lead over Cleburne (0-1, 0-5) after the extra point with 8:04 left in the first quarter.
Cleburne junior running back Hayden Leifeste scored on a two-yard rush to tie the game 7-7 after the extra point with 3:44 left in the first quarter.
Leifeste ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries and caught two passes for 13 yards Friday.
Long got Centennial’s lead back as he scored on an eight-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jacob Torres to bring the score to 14-7 after the extra point with 3:19 left in the first.
Torres completed 13 of 18 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions in the win.
Cleburne tied the game again on a 44-yard pass from junior quarterback Luke Stewart to junior receiver Malachi Cunningham to bring the score to 14-14 after the extra point with nine seconds left in the first.
Burleson's Friendly-Neighborhood Spider-Man
Peter Parker was an ordinary teenager until he was bitten by a radioactive spider and gained the proportional strength, speed and agility of a spider and adhesive fingertips that allowed him to stick to walls. When his uncle Ben died tragically, Peter chose to use these abilities to help people–for with great power there must also come great responsibility.
The guy who walks around Burleson dressed as Spider-Man wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider. He doesn’t have any of the comic-book character’s super powers. He does feel a sense of responsibility when he wears the costume though.
The responsibility Burleson’s Spider-Man feels is to spread positivity–cheering people up and giving them something to talk about.
“It’s really fun interacting with all the different people, seeing people from all different walks of life just kind of talk to me and everything, and kind of helping make their day a little more interesting,” Burleson’s Spider-Man said in an interview.
Burleson’s Spider-Man–a 25-year-old retail employee who chooses to keep his true identity a secret–has been roaming the streets of Burleson dressed as his favorite superhero, Marvel Comics’ friendly-neighborhood wall-crawler since 2020. Since then he–like the actual Spider-Man–has become a staple in his community.
“Of course he’s an icon around Burleson,” said photographer Ashley Lee who’s lived in Burleson for 14 years. “Everybody knows him and everybody sees him.”
Lee’s first interaction with Spider-Man was on her 12-year-old son’s birthday party when she happened to see Spider-Man walking down her street. She said she flagged him down and that he “could not have been nicer” when she asked him to join the party and take pictures with the kids.
“We had a bunch of 12-year-olds here who lost all their minds,” Lee said of the reaction to Spider-Man joining the party.
Birthday parties are a regular part of Burleson’s Spider-Man’s life now along with events for the city, schools and other organizations.
Those who haven’t seen him at a party or event have probably seen him taking the walk he takes at least weekly. That walk usually comes after hanging out in Old Town at Daydream Coffee Co. or on the bench in front of Pandan. From there, he heads down Ellison Street to First Baptist Church Burleson before turning on Johnson Avenue, walking past Warren Park and Burleson Collegiate High School to Walgreens and turning on Hidden Creek to head to Bailey Lake.
When he first started doing this, he didn’t imagine he’d become as known as he is in Burleson.
“I never thought I’d be kind of renowned around here,” he said.
When he first started dressing up as Spider-Man in public, he was worried people would think he was trying to bother them or get attention. However, he said the initial reactions were “surprisingly positive.” “A lot of people got a kick out of it,” he said.
“I definitely got stares,” he said. “People were definitely like ‘Okay that guy looks a little weird.’”
He said he “completely understands” people who think what he does is weird.
“A guy in his mid-twenties dressing up as Spider-Man in public is definitely a little weird.”
Despite it being weird, he dresses up as Spider-Man in public because of the effect he sees it has on people and the effect that has on him.
He needed that effect in 2020 after a “bad breakup” left him feeling “the saddest” he’d ever been.
“Everyone gets sad, but at the time it was on a whole other level,” he said. “I just couldn’t fathom that that type of feeling was possible.”
He decided to do what he could to help other people not feel as bad as he did.
“I was like, ‘If I’m feeling that, surely other people are able to feel that as well.’” he said. “So I basically just wanted to go around [and] just kind of cheer people up essentially–kind of like use the energy I was feeling in there and just put it out for other people in a positive way.”