If you’re like me, you probably aren’t a giant sports fanatic. I’m not entirely sure what a “down” is, except that it’s the opposite of up, and to be honest, no matter how many times someone tries to explain the game to me, I am not going to ever fully wrap my head around football. And that’s okay, I just cheer when everyone else does, and usually I can fly under the radar. But I like going to games, in fact, even though I am a natural blonde and generally refuse to wear yellow, I love putting on my gold shirt and going to sit in the bleachers with my friends. I love making sparkly shirts and wearing matching bandanas with my friends. Key phrase: With my friends. I wouldn’t go to a game alone, and that’s any game, really. I’m actually on the swim team, and it’s rare when we get a ton of people to pack the classrooms (yes, our viewing area consists of two classrooms and a glass wall, let’s talk about it another time), but I would never expect anyone to just hop on over to Corbett 137 by themselves to watch a meet, no matter how much of a swimming and diving fan they were.
I really only realized this recently: sports are not fun because the game is good, or match, or meet or whatever is exciting. Sports are fun because you’re usually with a bunch of people in various states of intoxication, or various states of caring about the outcome of said sport. The people you are with make the experience worthwhile. And in Laramie, it is going to take a lot more than my intrinsic motivation to get out from under my covers and into some pants, just to walk to the War or the AA or the UniWyo. It takes a village and maybe some kettle corn.
So maybe sporting events should just be renamed “social events where you can also see some sports.” That would be a little more accurate. Even in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” the second line is take me out to the crowd. Because the crowd is fun! Junior Mary Uselmann agrees, “Sporting events are fun to go to because the atmosphere is always exciting, and the social aspect of going with your friends to support your school is really fun.” I love being a Cowgirl, and I wouldn’t trade my experience as a student athlete here for anything. I know that most if not all the students and student-athletes alike share that opinion; and that is pride. And granted, I may not know what the heck that orange upside-down exclamation point they move all around the field is but I respect the game of football. I respect my fellow athletes, and I take pride in being a student at the University of Wyoming, and when I go to sporting events and I see loyal Pokes fans refusing to give up after a tough loss, it makes me realize how much pride the city of Laramie and all of its inhabitants have in us. That’s encouraging, and puts a smile on my face! Make sure you do your best to come out and support your Cowboy and Cowgirl athletes, even if it’s just for the camaraderie of the crowd.