As someone who went all-out senior year of high school in terms of supporting the football team, I’m honestly very surprised with the fact that this past weekend marked my first college football experience. I’ve never been a fan of professional football, and before my final year at high school I had no interest for that form of football either. However, when senior year came around, I became a photographer for the yearbook and was tasked with going to the first few games. I don’t quite know when it happened, but by the time the first three home games had been played (and won!), I was hooked. I attended almost every game of the season, even if it wasn’t a home game. When our team attended states, I even woke up at 5 a.m. to ride five hours on a bus full of cheerleaders to take picture at the final game.
I figured that college would be similar – I would attend every home game and follow the team closely. Unfortunately, until last weekend other events such as Student Assembly delegation improvement workshops and huge amounts of homework have led to me missing every home game.
During family weekend, one of the events offered was the home game. Since my only commitment that day was to be with my family, I offered up the idea that we should attend the game. I didn’t have to ask my parents (especially my dad) twice, and soon we were in the bleachers cheering on our team. I had high hopes for the game, considering our great record for the year.
The game began very competitively, with both teams staying neck and neck. However, the second and third quarter presented an upsetting situation – the opposing team was one touchdown ahead of us, and it had been a stale mate for the longest time. In fact the only highlight in that half of the game was the amazing Marching Captains and their halftime show. I was floored at their precision in their routine, along with the quality of their music. Best of all, I got to see my suite-mate/close friend Svetlana perform for the first time all semester!
Just when I started to think we were doomed to losing and that the final quarter would be dull, our team started performing better than ever and scored a touchdown. This happened in the last few seconds, and took the game into overtime. In fact, what started out as a boring match ended up in a neck and neck, extremely competitive game with double overtime.
In the end our team triumphed, bringing the incredibly intense game to a satisfying end. It was a fantastic first college football game to attend, and I can say with even more devotion that I am proud to be a Captain.
