Tomorrow night, in neighborhoods around Napa, residents who step out of their homes and onto their quiet streets will be able to hear distant roars and the echoing voice of Ed Barwick.

Those who are packed into the funky confines of Memorial Stadium will feel the thunder of the crowd and Barwick’s booming voice, as it is the Big Game, the annual showdown between Napa and Vintage high schools.

Big Game XXXVII will draw upwards of 7,000 people to Memorial Stadium to take part in the tradition. It is a small-town rite like no other.

Many in the crowd come year after year, decade after decade, to watch their children, their neighbor’s children or just to cheer their alma mater. Some are there to support a specific athlete, others for a trombone player or cheerleader.

High school students and other teens, many far more interested in the scene than in the football game, parade around the stadium grounds.

Fans will plop down on the moist green grass behind the end zones, setting up for the game with blankets and sleeping bags.

The junior varsity teams go full-tilt, playing before what  are easily the biggest crowds of the year. (Fans who want a seat for the varsity game must arrive a couple of hours early, and their reward is to watch the “futures game” as the JV squads go at it.)

The game has spurred traditions that fill the week at the two public high school campuses in Napa. Bonfires, rallies, themes that change each year and are printed on sweatshirts and T-shirts and (we suspect) body parts.

Members of the bands and cheer squads, many of whom practiced on the national holiday this week to tune up for the game, are in top form.

In the days before the game, the coaches and principals trek to the Elks Lodge for a light-hearted roasts before the Noon Rotary and Kiwanis clubs.

But on game day, it’s all business as the Crushers and the Indians go nose-to-nose.

It’s the biggest show in Napa.