Something special is happening in the Butler and Mars communities these days.

It stems from what’s been happening on the basketball court.

What’s special is what’s going on off the basketball court as well.

The Golden Tornado are playing in their third WPIAL Class 6A boys hoop championship game in four years Saturday night. The Planets played in their third straight Class 5A title game Friday night.

Those respective runs of success have galvanized those communities and their high school alumni like never before.

Mars coach Rob Carmody said recently that he’s been receiving texts from former Planet standouts John Castello and Andrew Recchia — both now playing at Shippensburg — and his son Robby, now playing at Notre Dame. Other former players have chimed in as well.

Those texts are directed at this year’s team, wishing them well, urging them to continue the tradition.

That is, after all, where tradition comes from.

Community members and the student body support these guys as well.

Tradition is never started. It’s developed. And it takes an entire community to sustain it.

Butler has that now as well. People think it began with Ethan Morton.

It didn’t.

He and his teammates are just adding to it.

Butler’s boys basketball success dates back to Mark Jula’s teams in the early 1990’s, continuing forward with George Abraham’s Western Final appearances with players like Aaron Epps, Troy Nunes and Steve Adams, to Gene Rodgers guiding the Ben Gallagher-led team to the 2001 WPIAL finals.

Toss in the Nate Snodgrass era with Bobby Swartwout — the latter now the Tornado’s junior varsity coach — and others. That transitions to Tyler Federick ahd that senior class — with Morton as a freshman — that reached the WPIAL finals three years ago.

Many former Butler players — Dom Pusateri, Joel and Jace Stutz, Snodgrass among them— are repeatedly in the stands at Tornado games.

Now Butler has Morton and Devin Carney, Mattix Clement and others. It has Luke Patten — such a key on the floor in last year’s run to the finals and a key from a supportive role as an injured player this year.

Now Mars has Michael Carmody, Mihali Sfanos, Schlegel and others.

Both of these teams have young starters learning how to become leaders through their current senior leaders.

That’s how tradition is sustained.

Check out the Green Party — Butler’s student section — Saturday night at The Petersen Events Center. It will be enormous. It will be loud.

It will be special.

Community pride.

It exists in these two towns.

Thank those coaches and those kids — present and past — for that.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle