November 20, 2001

Sacramento State Football

Although I went to most home football games in high school, I went through four years of college without attending a single college game. That finally changed October 6 when, at the urging of friends and co-workers, I went to Sacramento State's homecoming game. I even made an appearance at the Green Thunder pre-game tailgate party in the parking lot near the football field. College students have a knack for accepting free food, and I'm no exception. I ate my hamburger and talked to acquaintances until the game started.

We wandered into the stands, found more people we knew, and alternated between socializing and watching the game. I know the person who dresses as the mascot, but I'd never seen him in full costume, prancing around with the cheerleaders, and that certainly provided a good laugh. For that matter, I'd never seen cheerleaders tossed in the air so many times, either. After talking for a while, I went along with four of the guys to the visitors' side of the field, where we met up with a few more people. I'm still not sure why they wanted to sit on that side of the field, but nobody seemed to notice that we were supporting Sac State.

Then someone decided that I needed a tour of the area, so we went to the beer garden, and discovered that neither of us had our IDs. Instead, since we both work for the newspaper, we went up to the press box where the announcers, some of the coaches, and President Gerth sit. (I noticed that they have unlimited snacks and soft drinks.)

But the best part was when the fireworks began. We were up at the top of the press box, and I took some great photos of fireworks over the school. I had just experienced my first college football game.

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