Fair Weather Fan

     In addition to my hatred for being outside and all things summer, I have another major aversion. Sports. I don't like watching them and I certainly don't like playing them. Through the years my children have tried a variety of sports. I never minded attending their games of baseball and soccer when they were little. They had all the cute and none of the competitiveness. Kids would be picking flowers in the outfield during baseball and running in a cluster during soccer. I was always the loudest cheerleader, cheering for all the children on both teams. As the kids got older they were in teams where scores were kept. I still screamed like a banshee but it wasn't as much fun.
     So imagine my surprise when my oldest daughter, Daisy called to tell me she got free tickets to a football game for us to attend during my upcoming visit to see her at her college in South Carolina. My mother and I were going to visit her and apparently we would be driving to Athens, Georgia to cheer on the University of Georgia Bulldogs while we were there. My mum always enjoyed football. I remember hearing her passionately reacting to games on tv when I was a little girl. When my brother and I were in high school, she would happily attend the games even if we wouldn't. She loved the idea of going to this game. Daisy loves football and her boyfriend is a sports lover too. I was the only one who wasn't so sure about this plan.
     Our first stop on this sports adventure was a tailgate party. This was weird. We had passes that allowed us a parking space at a tailgating station. What??? Who knew there was such a thing? A tailgating station is a gated lot with numbered parking spots and a building with restrooms and a common area. Apparently people buy season passes for this kind of thing. We were gifted the pass for the evening and clearly came unprepared. First of all, our rental car was not emblazoned in Bulldog paraphernalia like paw print magnets and University of Georgia flags. We did not have a red U of G awning to assemble in our spot or the coordinating chairs. We were sorely lacking a satellite dish, flat screen television and a grill, among other things necessary to participate. Instead, we had a two dollar Styrofoam cooler from Walmart full of cheese, vegetables, dips and sodas. Truth be told, I was wishing for a Bulldog temporary tattoo for my cheek or a red and black hoodie right about then. Despite my lack of love for sports, I do have a love for community and this definitely was one. Although I still wasn't too excited to go see the game, I started thinking I could get into this tailgating thing if I lived near a team. For the most part, we sat in the car and people watched and half dosed. Tailgating seemed to be something you met up with friends to do.
     Along with the tailgate pass comes a bus ride to the game. We loaded up with the fans and headed off to the college. We were a bit surprised when the bus stopped not that close to the school. We followed the crowd to the enormous stadium and eventually found our way to our seats. To my delight, there was a red pom pom on each one! It was on!!! Before the game even began, the crowd was wired. It was like nothing I had ever seen. The bleachers were a sea of red with a teeny corner of gold and black for the Missouri team. What a coincidence that the opposing team was a college my brother used to teach at. Which led to my mother rooting for the enemy. I can't say I actually cared about the Georgia team, but when in Rome...

     Before the game started the crowd was screaming and cheering along with prompts on the giant screen. I hollered with the best of them. As a matter of fact, I hollered louder than most of them. By the time the game actually started, my throat hurt. At no point did I have any idea what was happening on the field, but a young woman in front of me shared the drama that was unfolding near her involving a drunk teenager, his crying sister, the disappointed parents and the judgmental aunt. Way more entertaining. Daisy's boyfriend seemed shocked at my volume yet impressed. My mum kept rooting for the opposition so we had to pretend she wasn't with us. I remained clueless and content. After halftime we called it a night.
     Although the evening did not change my feelings towards sports, I had fun. And I have the pom poms to prove it.