first down! or something like that
Saturday was a big day. In the most exciting news, my cousin's little boy was OFFICIALLY adopted (the last hearing, after more than 7 months!). It just so happened to be National Adoption Day, too, so we celebrated our expanded family, and I was reminded how thankful I am that my grandparents chose to adopt my mother.
I also got to go to my very first football game. Well, not ever, but I'm not counting high school games. For one thing, I never watched more than about 30 seconds of those, and could usually not tell you if we won or lost at the end. What I do remember is I could usually just guess that we'd been mercy ruled, and I'd probably be right. We didn't have much of a team for most of my time there.
No, this was no such game. This was a college football game. And not just any game, but ASU vs. U of A. Matt was able to get some extra tickets from his bishop, so Shantel and I both got to experience our first real football game together. I'll go ahead and skip to the spoilers for those of you who don't know or don't care - we lost. I was actually into it, too, watching and understanding and asking questions of Matt when I didn't quite get what was going on. I felt like a big girl, all grown up and understanding sports.
I wanted us to win for two reasons. One, I'm an ASU student, and a sun devil is obviously cooler than a wildcat. And our colors are more fun. School spirit, rah rah rah. But mostly, I wanted to be able to have bragging rights that we won so I could taunt Ryan. Much to my chagrin, mere seconds after the game ended, my phone went off with his celebrations. Karma.
We had pretty good seats, close enough that I could hear the occasional taunt shouted our way by the Tuscon team or their band. (Sadly, we were not over in the student section. Now THAT would be a fun game.) Oh yes, their band. My favorite bit of school rivalry came from the musicians. The U of A band was up in a far removed corner on the uppermost level of the stadium. Our band was proudly seated right behind the goalposts at the far end. Every time U of A would begin to play some rousing march, our band would stand up and play louder and more enthusiastically. Ha, take that! Oh pitiful attempt to be peppy, we shall drown you out with our better music! Go home, no one cares about you.
Being me, I am easily distracted during games. Have you ever noticed how enticing stadium food is? Even if you're not hungry, and especially if you skipped a meal or two. Oh, pretzel! Cold and overdone, leathery on the outside and doughy in the middle, you look delicious! I don't care that you cost $6.50 and that cheese for you is an extra $2, I must have you! And the nachos smell amazing, with their rubber cheese and two jalepenos. What is it about this ridiculously overpriced, semi-indigestible food that draws us so?
There is one major exception - garlic fries. WHY?! You can smell them from half a section away, and heaven forbid they sit next to you. That's a food that should only be consumed if everyone is eating them, so that the smell becomes unnoticeable because everyone stinks. Man. I like garlic and use it in a lot of foods, but I don't understand the desire to smother french fries in a thick paste of it that reeks. Shantel has a limited sense of smell, which served her well. Every now and then Matt and I would tear up as the thick aroma trickled up, teasing the edges of our olfactory senses before slamming us with a wall of garlic stench.
Oh yeah, football. Did I mention I brushed up with a 'football for girls' reading before I went? It actually helped. I was able to follow most things, my main questions were when the refs called stuff and I didn't have a clue what they were talking about anymore, and Matt was just full of answers. I was on my feet cheering for a large portion of the game, my hopes high, victory within our reach! And then, no. At the last moment, those hopes were dashed, and my phone vibrated with the victory celebrations of people from that Tucson school. A bitter end.
Actually, no, the only bitter part was how long it took me to get out of the parking garage and back on the freeway. I was happy to finally collapse into my bed after a whopping total of 4 1/2 hours sitting in my car that day. I loathe traffic.
But it was a fun day overall. Memories of friends and fun long outlive the drudgery of daily struggles. Oh! And I almost forgot to mention how much fun it is to be part of a group-mind like that - thousands and thousands of people all gathered and doing the same thing. A loud, seething mass of people dressed in black and waving around their 'pitchforks' all together, hearing the roar of a cheer sweep across the stadium and echo off the mountain. A favorite was watching the student section jingle their keys, as the lights flashing off the various bits of metal made the section look like it was sparkling. And the fireworks. Fireworks are always cool.
I also got to go to my very first football game. Well, not ever, but I'm not counting high school games. For one thing, I never watched more than about 30 seconds of those, and could usually not tell you if we won or lost at the end. What I do remember is I could usually just guess that we'd been mercy ruled, and I'd probably be right. We didn't have much of a team for most of my time there.
No, this was no such game. This was a college football game. And not just any game, but ASU vs. U of A. Matt was able to get some extra tickets from his bishop, so Shantel and I both got to experience our first real football game together. I'll go ahead and skip to the spoilers for those of you who don't know or don't care - we lost. I was actually into it, too, watching and understanding and asking questions of Matt when I didn't quite get what was going on. I felt like a big girl, all grown up and understanding sports.
I wanted us to win for two reasons. One, I'm an ASU student, and a sun devil is obviously cooler than a wildcat. And our colors are more fun. School spirit, rah rah rah. But mostly, I wanted to be able to have bragging rights that we won so I could taunt Ryan. Much to my chagrin, mere seconds after the game ended, my phone went off with his celebrations. Karma.
We had pretty good seats, close enough that I could hear the occasional taunt shouted our way by the Tuscon team or their band. (Sadly, we were not over in the student section. Now THAT would be a fun game.) Oh yes, their band. My favorite bit of school rivalry came from the musicians. The U of A band was up in a far removed corner on the uppermost level of the stadium. Our band was proudly seated right behind the goalposts at the far end. Every time U of A would begin to play some rousing march, our band would stand up and play louder and more enthusiastically. Ha, take that! Oh pitiful attempt to be peppy, we shall drown you out with our better music! Go home, no one cares about you.
Being me, I am easily distracted during games. Have you ever noticed how enticing stadium food is? Even if you're not hungry, and especially if you skipped a meal or two. Oh, pretzel! Cold and overdone, leathery on the outside and doughy in the middle, you look delicious! I don't care that you cost $6.50 and that cheese for you is an extra $2, I must have you! And the nachos smell amazing, with their rubber cheese and two jalepenos. What is it about this ridiculously overpriced, semi-indigestible food that draws us so?
There is one major exception - garlic fries. WHY?! You can smell them from half a section away, and heaven forbid they sit next to you. That's a food that should only be consumed if everyone is eating them, so that the smell becomes unnoticeable because everyone stinks. Man. I like garlic and use it in a lot of foods, but I don't understand the desire to smother french fries in a thick paste of it that reeks. Shantel has a limited sense of smell, which served her well. Every now and then Matt and I would tear up as the thick aroma trickled up, teasing the edges of our olfactory senses before slamming us with a wall of garlic stench.
Oh yeah, football. Did I mention I brushed up with a 'football for girls' reading before I went? It actually helped. I was able to follow most things, my main questions were when the refs called stuff and I didn't have a clue what they were talking about anymore, and Matt was just full of answers. I was on my feet cheering for a large portion of the game, my hopes high, victory within our reach! And then, no. At the last moment, those hopes were dashed, and my phone vibrated with the victory celebrations of people from that Tucson school. A bitter end.
Actually, no, the only bitter part was how long it took me to get out of the parking garage and back on the freeway. I was happy to finally collapse into my bed after a whopping total of 4 1/2 hours sitting in my car that day. I loathe traffic.
But it was a fun day overall. Memories of friends and fun long outlive the drudgery of daily struggles. Oh! And I almost forgot to mention how much fun it is to be part of a group-mind like that - thousands and thousands of people all gathered and doing the same thing. A loud, seething mass of people dressed in black and waving around their 'pitchforks' all together, hearing the roar of a cheer sweep across the stadium and echo off the mountain. A favorite was watching the student section jingle their keys, as the lights flashing off the various bits of metal made the section look like it was sparkling. And the fireworks. Fireworks are always cool.
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