Top 5 Things I Love About Game Day

Texas. Tech. Football. There are no 3 words that are sweeter to hear this time of year. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m not sure if I can get much more hyped than I already am. I have screamed in my roommates face on numerous occasions, usually after watching a hype video. I am losing my mind, and we still have 3 more days to go. There is just something about game day that I can’t get enough of, I am so ready for this season to start. I am practically splitting at the seams!

With that being said, these are the top 5 things that I love about game day in Lubbock. These are in no particular order, but as you will see, they are in chronological order.

The Atmosphere

There is no feeling quite like waking up on a Saturday morning knowing its game day. I am one of those people who wakes up at 8 in the morning, so I can build my hype up all day long. There is a different buzz around town when our Red Raiders suit up to play. Everyone is smiling, flocking to the various Tech apparel stores around town, and excited about what the day may bring. The energy is palpable, sunrise to sunset. How do you not get pumped knowing that you will be in The Jones later rooting on the team you love so dearly?

Tailgating

Loyal Red Raiders come from all over the city, and all over the state to get the party started off early. Tailgaters of all shapes and sizes gather around the mighty Jones and pack the parking lot. One of my favorite things (hence it being in this article) is taking a stroll around the stadium and exchanging high fives, guns up, hand shakes, and body bumps. As for me, I enjoy tailgating with my church community, The Wesley Foundation (shameless plug). I love hanging out with a bunch of my closest friends and talking about the upcoming game. Then after tailgating, we walk over to the stadium to stand at the gates, anxiously awaiting entry. However, I think one of the most underrated parts of the game day experience is the suspenseful walk over there. I love strolling down university hooping and hollering. Seeing a sea of scarlet and black migrating towards the stadium is a beautiful thing.

The first (cheerleader lead) Raider Power

The reason why I specify cheerleader lead is because its one thing if a quarter of the stadium is doing it, but when the ENTIRE stadium is chanting that is simply music to my ears. In my opinion (clearly) this is one of the greatest chants in college football. It sends fear through the veins of our enemies, and it sends chills down the spine of every single person in the stadium. 60,000 people yelling at you from both sides, not that’s an intimidating atmosphere. That time between the teams finishing warm ups, the pre-game music stopping and the ball actually being kicked off is when this magical moment occurs. Hearing that chant ring out from one side of the stadium to the other is the last few drops of hype that I need to bring as much noise as I possibly can. Its like topping off my gas tank, after that, I am truly ready to lose my mind.

The Tortilla Toss

Whether your tortilla makes landfall 10 rows in front of you, or it sails all the way to the numbers on the field, this may be one of the greatest traditions in college football (again in my opinion). Its funny, if you take a hypothetical step back, seeing hundreds of tortillas shooting out of the crowd would be a very strange sight for someone who has never been to a Tech home game. My personal goal for this season is to get one stuck in Baker Mayfield’s face mask, just sayin’. No matter if you bite a hole in the middle of your tortilla, or if you are one to just grip it and rip it. Those few seconds of seeing a cloud of flour based discs soaring through the air is special for fans of any age.

Anything and everything that is associated with the sweet taste of victory

I am hoping that we will be able to taste victory a lot this season, because it sure does make this city more lively. Football, or sports in general, has a unique way to bring a community together. When we win it puts everyone in good spirits (excluding the opposing fans of course). I love it all, from the fireworks that shoot off when the clocks finally hit zero, to singing the Matador Song with thousands of my fellow Red Raiders, to leaving the stadium with everyone in a good mood still cheering and chanting Raider Power! Let’s not forget one of the most important parts of victory, RINGING THE VICTORY BELLS! I will truly never get tired of hearing those ring out. The night after the game is much more fun when we win. When we lose, all you want to do is crawl into bed and cry yourself to sleep. You make an effort to not go anywhere near a TV with ESPN, because all it does is make you relive the heartache. However, when we win, you party the night away with your friends, you have no thought of going to sleep, and you are glued to the TV so you can relive the triumph with highlights from the days game. Not to mention it makes the Monday after game day a lot easier to deal with.

While this is only a 5 item list, I have to include one other thing. Our teams intro onto the field. One of, if not THE greatest intros in college football. I know I have been saying that a lot in this article, and I’ll admit, I may be a bit bias, deal with it. There is no greater symbolism on game day than the Masked Rider, and Fearless Champion fearlessly leading our team into battle. The reason why I didn’t include it in the list is because it was too close in time to the Raider Power and the tortilla toss. I didn’t want 3 of my 5 points to be within 5 minutes of each other.

I love this time of year. Right as the weather starts to cool down, our football team heats up. I can’t wait until Friday night, when I can finally open up a can of chaos and craziness on everyone I see. Here’s to a great season opener, and hopefully a great season through-out. #WreckEm