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Years ago before high definition T.V. and cable packages that featured hundreds of channels, the viewers had no choice in who they watched on college football Saturdays. Network executives decided who we would watch and when, and if it didn’t happen to be your team then that was just too damn bad.
Your only option (outside of listening on a radio, of course) was to get a ticket and physically go to your team’s stadium, whether that be by air, land, or sea. It was difficult, but worth it. The big-game stadium experience is unlike anything else in the world, especially so when it’s your alma mater or favorite team playing.
Under the lights, the marching band taking the field with tens of thousands screaming bloody murder – it’s theatre and it’s fucking intoxicating.
Stephen Fry summed it up best while visiting an Auburn-Alabama game, saying that it was “simultaneously preposterous, incredibly laughable, impressive, charming, expensive, overpopulated, wonderful…America.” There’s a shot of Fry in that same clip listening to a rendition of “God Bless America” by the Auburn marching band just before kickoff, tears welling up in his eyes as F-16 fighter jets do a flyover that drives an important, albeit cliche point home – there really, truly is nothing like college football in America.
The sheer scale of a match between say, LSU and Florida is on par with any professional event abroad. The pageantry, the fight songs, and the sprawling campuses with autumn leaves – these events have it all.
From an outsider’s perspective the entire thing would seem wholly ridiculous and that’s because it is. I don’t need to get into the inherent evilness of the NCAA or pay-for-play debate.
College football is a billion dollar machine funded by rabid fan bases with deep pockets. The NFL may be king, but college football holds a far more personal place inside American’s hearts.
And while there is a sense of childlike wonderment surrounding the idea of going to your teams’ big game on a Saturday afternoon, in 2018 the in-home experience is nearly comparable. Soaring ticket prices, congestion following the end of the game, ridiculous concession fees – it’s all a big pain in the ass when you step back and look at it without the rose colored glasses on.
And let’s not forget about what no one really wants to discuss – your team losing the game. The bright lights and camaraderie shared with the people around you inside of that stadium gets wiped out as soon as some asshole cheering for the other team starts trying to pick a fight with people in your section.
It’s not so fun sitting in a stadium when the team you came to see is getting blown out by the middle of the second quarter and you’re sitting there with only a ticket stub and a nip of whiskey to show for it.
Every once in a blue moon, a trip back home to the alma mater with a seat in the lower bowl is a nice little treat. But the unlimited snacks, alcohol, and ability to use a clean bathroom in the sanctity of your own humble abode trumps the majestic qualities of a college football stadium about 95% of the time.
Relaxing on the couch and scrolling the Twitter feed is exactly where I want to be. One game streaming on my laptop and another on the tv at a reasonable volume with close friends all around – that’s better than the in-game atmosphere nine times out of ten.
I can wax poetic all day about how awesome it is to be on campus and surrounded by like-minded people but let’s be real – will anything ever be better than your couch? For me the answer is an unequivocal and resounding no. Lots of good games on today, it’s my hope that you’re enjoying each and every one of them on a couch or recliner with food and drink close by. Enjoy the day..
Image via Unsplash
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jduda@grandex.co
I would say everyone should experience one night game in a stadium of 100,000+. Just the atmosphere of that many people packed in one building is something you can’t quite put into words.
I can put this in words and those words are “shit I wish I was on my couch”
Back when my wife was my girlfriend (and still loved me) I got fellated on the couch while drinking a glass of scotch and watching college football. Couch > stadium.
I’m Irish and we’ve had a couple of games in Dublin a few years ago (Boston College – Georgia Tech and UCF – Penn State) but a proper college game experience is on my bucket list.
Speaking of, anyone have a recommendation for a fixture that an outsider would enjoy?
I brag about going to virtually every OSU home game since I was a little kid but deep down I’d rather be on my couch. As I’ve aged, I’ve grown less tolerant of lines, traffic and stupid people