Wednesday, September 26, 2012

College Football Gameday… SDSU vs. SJSU…

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UCSD Football 006Football season is upon us and as each Saturday came and went Sharon and I inwardly began to realize how much we have missed the College Game Day Experience. As you may or may not know I was formerly a statistician for the Texas A&M Football team. Not only did I get paid to watch the football game from the press box but as part of my compensation I also received two game day tickets.

UCSD Football 005Sharon was the beneficiary of the tickets and would often take one of our kids along or at the very least one of her friends. Prior to and after A&M games a good friend of ours graciously invited us to a large tailgate where we would bring a dish and enjoy the company of all those in attendance.

Although we had not really discussed it before, we broached the subject and discovered we both felt that Football Game Day was what we missed most about our former home. So when our neighbors here at Mission Bay RV Resort one day asked us, "Why don’t you join us to an Aztec’s game?", we thought… Why not? Game day arrived last Saturday and the University of San Diego Aztecs were scheduled to play against the San Jose State University Spartans.

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The Spartans hadn’t won in San Diego for 60 years but were sporting one of their best teams in ages. We were hoping for an exciting game and arrived at the game about 20 minutes before kickoff to enjoy some of the pre-game pageantry UCSD Football 015that is part of college football. As kickoff time neared there was a bit more excitement in the air but I can tell you one thing for sure… even though this game was in Qualcomm Stadium (pro stadium for the San Diego Chargers) and despite the fact the fans were pretty excited there just was no comparison to the sense of awe one receives from the tradition, spirit and energy at Kyle Field, home of the Fighting Texas Aggies!

A great game it was as each team put up lots of points albeit on pretty weak defenses. The score flip and flopped back and forth until San Jose State finally scored late in the game and secured its 38-34 come-from-behind victory over the San Diego State Aztecs. All in all it was a really fun evening and we were able to get a little College Football “fix” even though it wasn’t quite the atmosphere we were accustomed to in College Station, Texas…

11 comments:

  1. We loved going to the VT games with our daughter Carrie. I will have to say though, the kids start their pregame rituals a bit early for us. We don't normally begin drinking at 9:00 a.m...hehe

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    1. But at 9AM in Blacksburg it is 5PM in Moscow! That,s not too early, is it?

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  2. I sure miss those Aztec games...glad you were able to go, too bad they lost. :(

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    1. they should have won... but their defense is a bit weak...

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  3. We went to a bowl game in Qualcomm Stadium once (Ducks lost!). I miss our days of going to see the Ducks play but there is something to be said for watching on TV too. I know what your mean about home field atmosphere, nothing like it.

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    1. yep - would love to have sen the ducks play while we were in town...

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  4. SJSU is my alma mater. They aren't bad (some years!) Nothing like a good college football game!

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  5. Good times. We saw Tampa Bay win the Superbowl in Qualcomm. Good memories.

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  6. College football is something that I miss. We get the Big Ten Network on our satellite, so I can still see the Purdue games from afar. Looks like you had a great time.

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