College Game Day is my favorite tv show. If you’re new around here, you may be surprised to learn that I’m a BIG college football fan. Believe it or not, I wait with baited breath for the first Saturday in September when my favorite tv show, ESPN’s College Game Day, re-ups. Over the course of the past 13 years, Fall and college football have become synonymous for me. I travel for college football. But trust me, no one was more surprised than my college girlfriends – I went to the University of Michigan, and while I bleed maize and blue, I did not catch football fever there.
What Happened?
Simple. Girl meets boy. Boy is an Oklahoma Sooners fanatic. When I met my husband almost 17 years ago, his Fall Saturdays were consumed with all things college football, in particular, OU Football (the University of Oklahoma’s team). Saturdays were College Game Day. So what’s a girl to do? At first I would read a magazine while “watching” the game with him. Then, I went to Dallas for The Red River Rivalry (#oufootball vs @texasfootball) & girlfriend, let me tell you! I saw Football Season in a while new light.
Why?
There’s just something about the pageantry of college football in the South. People get dressed up to go to games. I mean dressed up. Women show up in heels, well often cowboy boots, and dresses. Hair is done, folks have their teams’ colors on – it’s some of the best people watching I’ve encountered. You have to remember that I went to the University of Michigan where college game day is definitely a thing.
Michigan has an amazing football tradition, but it’s usually cold in Ann Arbor in the Fall. Girls do not wear cute outfits to the game. Everyone has on oversized sweatshirts and when it’s really cold, people have on layers on top of layers to stay warm. There’s nothing cute about it. Pageantry? If it’s there, I’m unaware of it. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve been around Michigan football all my life and anyone who knows me knows that until I met Todd, I had no interest in football.
So what is it about OU football? Maybe it’s the fact that every person I’ve ever met at OU is into it – men and women. They all go to the games, they all know the stats, it’s like a state past-time. But, there’s also the tailgating, bonding with fellow Sooner fans …. oh, and the Sooner Schooner!
Team Spirit
One of my husband’s college BFFs is now a Regent at The University of Oklahoma. The regents or board of any university work hard … but, they get great football tickets! We got VIP treatment at the 2019 season opener against The University of Houston. The stadium had a white-out ….. all OU fans wore white. We had amazing seats and then spent the second half of the game on the field!!! For context for any football fans out there, this was Jalen Hurts’ Senior year at OU (he was the quarterback who now plays QB for the Philadelphia Eagles). Definitely a memorable college game day.
The thing is, I married into this thing called #SoonerNation. To be honest, I initially resisted getting caught up in the frenzy. I’m happy to report that 13 years in, I’m a raving @ou_football fan who travels across the country for games and searches the internet to find cute OU gear. The thing about life is that if you let go of how you thought it was going to be and embrace what it is, life can be pretty damn good!
The Maize & Blue
Despite all the crimson and creme above, I was raised in Michigan and am a double graduate of The University of Michigan. My family bleeds maize and blue.
Yes, I am a Sooners fan. And yes, Todd roots for Michigan on College Game Day as well. While the Sooners definitely reign in our household, we generally watch football on Saturdays during the Fall from 9 am until midnight to make sure we see both teams play. Last year, Michigan made it to the semi-finals which meant they played in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve at Miami’s Hardrock Stadium.
Guess who scored tickets?!?!?!?!? I was so excited to go to the game. We left a NYE party early to make sure we were there just after kickoff. Michigan had done so well all season long; I had high hopes for a great game against Georgia. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
We left the game early. Suffice it to say we were home before midnight. Which wasn’t so bad because we beat the traffic and a chance to watch the Miami fireworks from the comfort of our balcony. And yes, I finally found some cute Michigan gear! That’s a whole ‘nother post. Stay tuned.
Stylishly Yours,
Kalyn
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