College Sports

Today while I was working out at the gym, I ended up talking with some of the guys about sports, mainly college basketball. Lots of opinions, lots of arguing, but all of it good natured.

It got me to thinking (that in and of itself is amazing!). Sports serves as such a uniting factor across race, religion and continents. There may be language barriers, but throw a soccer ball in and everybody knows what to do. So here is my list of “Top 10 Things I Love About College Sports.”

10. Road Games. Nothing like making a road trip to see how the “other half” lives. You get to meet fans from the home team, plus make some new friends from your own school. Tailgating is even more fun, because there is always a banter going back and forth. I’ve made a lot of road trips and never had a problem, although I’m sure we have all heard the horror stories. Maybe they are true, maybe they were started by fans from other schools, who knows? But I love going on a road trip to a new destination.

9. Students in the Stands. Some schools have a legendary base of student fans. Think Cameron Indoor Stadium and Duke University. That bunch has been known to make players cry! Face it, the student body can make or break the atmosphere at a game, and the best schools usually seem to have the best student fans.

8. Gameday. Different at each school, but fun at all. I always get to football games extra early and try to enjoy as much as I can of the experience. A lot of schools have variations of cheering on the teams as they walk to the stadium. Bands playing, cheerleaders cheering, and the players in suits and ties (or sometimes uniforms) walking through a tunnel of fans. Then you have the bands marching to the stadium. Once inside, if both schools’ bands are present you have a musical battle going on during team warmups. Singing the fight songs and alma maters, it is all what makes college sports special.

7. Cheerleaders. The Rah Rah Squads can perform some death-defying tricks during timeouts, and keep their school’s fans pumped up during the games. Sometimes they get a little TOO involved. I will never forget watching an NCAA game years ago, where the (much) lower seeded team won in triple OT. When the team claimed the lead late in the third OT, a lead that pretty much sowed the game up, one of the cheerleaders took a few steps onto the court and slapped the player who scored on the butt with her pompoms!

6. Bands. In football, most every school has it’s own version of the band marching to the stadium. Once inside, the bands entertain, fire up the fans, and keep the crowd going. At halftime, you can sit back and relax for a few minutes, and be entertained all over again. Sometimes, if your team is having a bad year, halftime may be the best part of the game! At hoops games, the bands serve the same purpose, just on a smaller scale.

5. Rivalries. Each sport has it’s own, and some are unbelievable to behold. If you have never been to the Auburn - Alabama game (known as the Iron Bowl in the South), you have missed something special. A Kentucky - Louisville game in hoops has the same drama, especially since Rick Pitino came back to the commonwealth to coach the Cardinals. Michigan - Ohio State will give you goosebumps.

4. The Stadiums. I have walked into all kinds of arenas and stadiums. Each has it’s own personality and presence. I love walking down the ramp into a football stadium, and seeing the green expanse of the field in front of me. Walking into a basketball arena, smelling the popcorn, hearing the vendors shout “programs!”

3. Traditions. Dotting the “i” at Ohio State. Running through the “T” and singing Rocky Top at Tennessee. “Yell Practice” the night before a game at Texas A&M. Rubbing “Howard’s Rock” and playing Tiger Rag at Clemson. “Rammer Jammer” at Alabama. “War Damn Eagle” at Auburn. The Block “M” at Michigan. “Traveler” taking the field at USC. The flaming spear and the War Chant at Florida State. You get the point.

2. The student-athletes. These men and women practice a ton, have to keep their grades up, and live in a fishbowl, knowing that any misstep will be front page news. Sure, there are some less than stellar among them, but that only proves that athletics is just a microcosm of society at large. The majority make all of us proud.

1. Camaraderie of the fans. Whenever I wear the t-shirt of my alma mater, I get comments from fans of other schools. I was wearing my school’s colors on my honeymoon a few years back, all the way down in the South Pacific, and the first day we were there a guy came up to me and started talking sports… he was a fan of a rival school. I ended up meeting a ton of people, all because of “wearing the colors.” I make it a point to wear my colors now, and I have met fans all over the world.

This is just my list, and I’m sure you have your own favorite things about college sports. Just leave a comment and let us all know what you like!

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