The 1st Game - It’s A Family Tradition

 

Somewhere not far away, there’s a 10-year-old boy who will soon have one of the most memorable days of his young life. Decades from now he will look forward to the time when he can share the same experience with his children. This day will become a fond memory because this will be the day he attends his first college football game. 

It will begin on Friday evening - the night before the big day. His Mom will make him go to bed early, reminding him that “tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”  But nervous anticipation keeps sleep from coming easily.  

Saturday morning he’s up early, already dressed in his team’s colors before he comes down for breakfast.  His Mom smiles and reminds him that he never does this on a school day. Within the hour, he takes his place in the car and they are on their way. No music on the radio today; instead sports talk fills the airwaves, and his Mom’s not complaining.  He can’t help but notice all the other cars on the highway are full of people wearing the same colors he has on.  

When they get within a few miles of the campus  his Father gets off the main highway and begins taking an intricate series of turns and backroads. Dad informs him that this is a time tested shortcut and it will get them to their parking space in the least amount of time.  For once his Dad is spot on.  In short order they pull in a church lot and back into  their parking space. Almost immediately they are warmly greeted by the people on either side of them. It reminds him of Thanksgiving when your relatives gather together for the first time in a year.  And in a way, it is. He learns that his family has used this same spot for many years.  Mom dutifully unfolds a card table, and soon every square inch of it is covered in food. It looks like an all-you-can-eat buffet, complete with fried chicken, burgers, deli sandwiches, baked beans, potato salad, chips, and desserts.  

After a couple of hours of eating, drinking, and socializing, Dad informs the group it’s time to head out.  Game time!  They walk a few blocks, turn a  corner, and the young man is awestruck at what he sees. It’s a tent city. Hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of tents cover what seems to be every grassed inch of the campus. The smell of grilling food fills the autumn air. People are tossing footballs and frisbees. Music is playing loudly.  There are even people watching football games on television.  Everyone seems so happy.  It’s also a bit unnerving for a 10 year old.  He’s never seen this many people in one place before.  He holds his Dad’s hand tightly.  

No stopping now - they meander thru the makeshift city and continue walking towards the stadium.  Soon it’s only a block away.  Another few minutes and it stands before him. He has seen it on television many times, but TV cameras can’t capture the size and scope of this magnificent structure. 

It’s concrete, brick, and steel - and it’s beautiful.  Huge bronze statues of past heroes flank the entrances. People buzz around it like honeybees circling a hive. This is what ancient Roman children must have felt like the first time they saw the Coliseum. 

Once his ticket is scanned, he walks thru the gate - at last he’s inside the stadium!  Quickly, his family heads up the ramp to their seats.  It’s several levels high, but that doesn’t matter. He’s almost running now.  On the way up he occasionally he catches a glimpse of the playing field.  His heart begins to race. 

Finally they reach the correct portal and he walks into the sunlight where he comes face to face with thousands of people.  Huge screens are playing videos from previous games accompanied with music that sounds like a call to battle. The band spreads out over the entire field and as if on cue, begins playing the fight song just as they reach their seats. No need to sit now, because 100,000 people are standing and raising their voices in unison. It’s the loudest, most wonderful thing he’s ever heard.  The stadium seems like a living thing.  He joins in, but his screams are lost in the crowd’s hurrahs.  In that instant, his team bursts onto the field and the noise becomes even louder. It’s like standing in front of a jet engine. He can’t hear his father speak.  The game is moments away from kickoff and for the first time in his life, he’s there to see it in person. 

When the SEC says “It just means more”, they’re right. In the south, college football resonates through our bloodlines.  Like cavemen who passed on hunting skills to their young offspring, alumni and rabid fans eagerly pass on love for their school to their children at an early age. It goes from  great grandparents to grandparents to parents to their children - to quote Hank Williams Jr., “It’s a family tradition.” 

The excitement, the pageantry, the history - you can’t beat it. College football is perhaps the greatest spectacle in all of sport. The NFL is a better brand of football, but I’ll take the college game  every time. 

Especially if it involves my team.  My Father would be proud.  

Joe Hobby is a stand up comedian, an author, and a blogger. Visit https://mylifeasahobby.blogspot.com/?m=1. for more.  

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