OK, it's not Williams Brice or Death Valley, but it is still our little piece of football heaven. It's Johnson Hagood Stadium, home of The Citadel Bulldogs. On August 31, 2013, the Dogs will welcome cross town rival Charleston Southern University in a match-up of my two favorite teams. My seats are on the home team Citadel side of the stadium, and as an alumnus, I can't help but cheer on the Dogs. But, the fan in me loves the Bucs too. I'm OK when either wins.
What football, and other sports, for that matter, occasions at colleges and universities of all sizes, in all locales, is inspiring to me. Fall Saturdays in the US, now Thursdays as well, quicken the pulse of most campuses. Like the sound of the drum line, the cadence reverberates beyond the ivy covered walls into the local communities. Alumni return to the campus, tailgaters put on the spread, wear the colors, play the games of our gathering rituals, recount the legends, and spend a few fazouls in the gift shops and concession stands. It happens in Ann Arbor, Athens, Los Angeles, Baton Rouge, Austin, Newberry, Scottsdale, and Clinton (SC, Iowa, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, or Massachusetts). They rock and roll, whether with a crowed of 105,00+ or 1,500.
OK, Mr. Intellectual Snob, college is for an education. Sports, football in particular, are a multi-billion dollar charter bus to professional athletics, one of the most shameful aspects of America's obsession with leisure. Still, college sports is a cash cow that funds scholarships, enables some individuals to pursue an education who may have never dreamed of such an opportunity, and helps construct and maintain university facilities. Like anything else touched by fallen humans, there are abuses at every level of the sports pyramid. Yet, football Saturday is football Saturday.
But, there's more. The intangibles. At our little place, with rarely more than 20,000 fans, there's an electricity that ignites the alumni base, the student body, people living in close proximity to the stadium, and even fans supporting the visiting team. Parents, alumni, the curious, girlfriends, touristas caught in the traffic, and just by-standers, get pumped when The Citadel Band leads the processional down paw print tagged Hagood Avenue. The Corps of Cadets marches in past the giant Bulldog monument, gift of the class of 1968, on to Sansom Field for a salute to the home and visiting fans. The foundation and development people are licking their chops as they work the crowd. It's a great day for the college. Every time. Six times this year for us. It's game day.
And, it's game day at Slippery Rock, Mars Hill, Wofford, Lehigh, Boise State, South Carolina State, and South Dakota State. Even Furman.
Not to wish my life away, but August 31 can't get here soon enough for this football fan. Rah rah cis boom bah.
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