On December 6, 2015, the Ohio Bobcats accepted an invitation to play in the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl, and two of our writers were lucky enough to attend the weekend full of fun and football! Our writer, Heidi, is a member of the Marching 110, and our writer, Brooklynn, was a fan for the game.
Band: Football season has to be my favorite time of the year, and probably because I am lucky enough to be a member of the most exciting band in the land, OU’s Marching 110. One of the many perks of being in the band is the opportunity to travel with the football team to any bowl game that they participate in at the end of the regular season. So, while I was getting ready for finals, I was also planning a trip to Montgomery, Alabama for the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl.
Fan: Sad that the football season and semester were winding down, I kept my eyes on OU’s eligibility for a bowl game, and was thrilled when they announced they were going to Alabama! I missed the bowl game in Florida my freshman year, so I was not missing out again this year, even though it meant I was blindly going on this adventure.
Band: The 12-hour drive to Alabama was long and extremely uncomfortable, and to top it off, as soon as we arrived, we held our first practice at Alabama State University. Any activity after a long bus ride that isn’t a shower just seems to drag on and on until we finally wrapped it up and continued with our trip.
We practiced some more the next couple of days and even got to be a part of an awesome pep rally the night before and the day of the game.
Fan: My adventure began with a 3.5 hour drive to Athens to load a bus with 50+ strangers that I call my fellow Bobcats. I was the last one on my bus and that meant I was lucky enough to get a front seat to myself (yay sleep!) for the 12-hour bus ride. We made a few stops in between watching Star Wars Episodes 4-6. Auburn was our destination for Friday, instead of Montgomery where the game was being held.
The Bobcats in Auburn got the chance to explore the spirited college town and go out in the South. Bars weren’t as plentiful as Athens, but that doesn’t mean the Bobcats didn’t party.
The morning of the game, we loaded back onto the bus and took an hour trip to Montgomery where we were free to find food and attend the *intimidating* tailgate. (Appalachia State brought flags, pop-up tents, and hundreds of fans that covered the parking lots with an awful yellow and black.) Once I entered the stadium, I felt overjoyed with the amount of Bobcats that attended, but also sad because App State’s fan base was much larger. I reminded myself that they were 6 hours closer to the event and continued to cheer loud and proud!
Band: Although I was exhausted from the long days and short nights, I was overjoyed the moment I walked onto the field on game day.
The only people in the stadium were our band and Appalachia State’s marching band. They cheered us on as we practiced and we did the same for them. After that, we waited for the game to begin.
The band cheered on the Bobcats from the moment they stepped on the field to the moment they walked off. Our halftime show went off with little to no hitches (there was an incident where I knocked off the hat of someone in my squad, but she quickly recovered… sorry, Maddie!) We were a bit frustrated with the fact that we had a lacking student section to help us drown out the noise from the vast amount of Appalachia State fans, but in the final minutes when the score was tight and the Bobcats took the lead, our fans came out to play.
Fan: The Bobcats in attendance yelled and cheered for the Marching 110 and football team as loud as they could and kept their spirits high with the back and forth game.
Band: Much to our disappointment the Bobcats did not prevail, but despite our upsetting loss, I will never forget the amazing experience I had in Montgomery Alabama with 240 of my closest friends and all the Bobcat fans that were able to support the team.
Fan: In the last two seconds of the game, with a score of 29-28 Bobcats, a field goal was kicked byAppalachia State, giving them the win. A sad, but still impressed group of Bobcat fans walked out of the stadium to get back on the buses and head home. Even though we lost, I had a great time and hope to see the Bobcats in a future bowl game.