I apologize for missing a few weeks with consistent postings, but I plan to catch many of you up on the student perspective of Indiana University football.
As many know, football has not been a big way for students to show school spirit. Yes everyone dresses up in cream and crimson but not many make it from the tailgate fields across the street to Memorial Stadium. This may have to do with the 8am breakfast club at multiple Bloomington bars, or the 8am pre-games that start with wake-up calls and end in empty kegs. Yes, students look at games for their tailgates, but in reality this season is starting to feel like Indiana football could be making a turn around.
Granted, we just lost our starting quarterback in the second game of the season due to a broken leg. But we didn’t just toss our season down the drain. Our new quarterbacks Cameron Coffman and Nate Sudfeld have both shown they have potential and with both of them being young (Nate being only one of 3 true freshman to see playing time at IU) they still has a lot to improve upon.
But students wouldn’t have heard about this until after the game had ended. Not because they were there, but because they weren’t and many ESPN apps hadn’t loaded in time. I must also admit, that I was one of them. I went to the game for a quarter but after a day full of dodging excise police and not being one of roughly 200 students ticketed for underage drinking, public intoxication, or other offenses at the tailgate going to the football game just seemed to tiring.
Indiana University has amazing school spirit. We will defend “our house” until the bitter end. Even if we lose a game we “never lose a tailgate”. Many students come to the fields to get to be with friends in a place where open container laws are bent, where the beer flows freely and handles are scarce, but hidden in two liters of Faygo, but occasionally make it to the stadium and when they do they are presently surprised. Granted, our stadium may not be packed but the tradition of the game is still as popular as ever. Whether it’s watching the Hoosiers make their way onto the field and run past Hep’s Rock or we do the “zombie dance” from the stands. Alumni, students, and fans all are together supporting the Hoosiers.
We may not be a powerhouse like Alabama, or Ohio State, or Michigan but we have heart and as we build on our previous year with a still-learning coaching staff we build up our student base too. Hoosiers from near and far come to Bloomington on a Saturday morning, whether to tailgate or to watch the game, they come in droves and leave just as happy (and slightly less sober) as when they arrive.
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