There’s something different about walking into a stadium on a game day, especially when the matchup is the University of Connecticut vs. Duke University. It doesn’t matter how many practices you’ve been to that week; the atmosphere on game day always feels different. As a sports medicine student manager, I’m used to arriving well before fans do, but this time, I could feel the energy the second I stepped onto the field. With my heart going a million miles per hour, I realized this game wasn’t going to be like any other.
Game day starts hours before kickoff. Well before the team arrives, we’re in the training room making sure everything is exactly where it needs to be. Taping tables are stocked, water bottles are filled, and towels are folded. Cooler after cooler stocked. While to most it may not be glamorous work, it’s essential and honestly, I love it. There’s something rewarding about setting the stage for everything that follows.
ArrivinG at rentschler Field
When the team gets to the venue, gears shift dramatically. Guys walk in with their headphones on, already locked in. Trainers are moving from table to table, taping ankles, wrists, and thumbs. I help out wherever it’s needed. Even the routine that’s so familiar feels more intense for a big game like this. Everyone’s sharper and more focused. You can sense what the night means.
When we make our way onto the field for warm-ups, everything opens up, the field, the stands, the music, the early crowd finding their seats. From the sideline, you appreciate how much goes into football that most people never notice. It’s a whole world operating at once. My favorite part about warm-ups is the movement all around: running bottles to players and staying ready for whatever one of the athletic trainers might need. It’s busy, but satisfying. You feel part of something.
One moment the stands are empty and then, in a blink, it’s bursting with energy and chatter. UConn fans arrive loud where you can feel the hum build in layers. Standing just feet away from the sideline, you’re in the middle of it all. Close enough to feel it, but still grounded in the job.
As the game gets going, the sideline becomes its own controlled chaos. Every play feels like something to prepare for. Somebody needs water. Somebody needs their helmet wiped. A trainer calls for help. A player comes off needing attention on a cramp or a tight muscle. You don’t sit, you don’t drift off, you stay locked in, tracking the ball and the players ready for anything.
Football gives you a perspective impossible to replicate from the stands or from a TV broadcast. You feel the hits through the ground and hear the conversations between players. Their faces tell the story of the game in a way statistics can’t.
Half-time always flies by quicker than anyone expects. While fans scatter off for concessions, we quickly work to reset ensuring everyone’s favorite green Powerade is stocked. When the third quarter starts, everything seems louder: the crowd, the players, the sidelines. Scores are neck and neck and every moment counts. Even though my mind is focused, I still find myself taking small mental snapshots of everything. The glare of the field lights and the look in players’ eyes as they wait for the next play.
final Score: 37-34
The final play solidified it all, we won. Overwhelmed with excitement after a full day of anticipation, tears streamed down my face. A mix of pride and pure gratitude for the job I love most was all I could think about. Soaking up the moment, a quick turnaround was made to clean up as the fans began to storm the field.
By the time the game wrapped up and fans departed, I felt that familiar wave of exhaustion. My legs were exhausted and my back ached, but more than this, I felt thankful. Few get to experience college football from the sidelines, much less during a matchup as intense as UConn vs. Duke. As I walked off the field that night, weaving through players, coaches, and staff, I was overwhelmed with joy.
Being a student manager means early mornings and long days, but it also means being part of something greater. Helping athletes who give it their all and seeing moments that most people don’t get a chance to see. I didn’t expect this job to change my life, but it did. Some people remember games for the final score. I remember the hard work, the energy, the people, and the privilege of being right there in the heart of it all.