It’s like Greek Week 2.0. It’ll be higher and stronger than the Boulder Creek current on a mid-August afternoon.
The Colorado Buffaloes enter the Pac-12 Conference last summer not knowing what to expect. They left the Big XII and preemptive Big 8 and Big 7 Conferences that they have called home since 1947. It was exactly that, a come-to-comfortable fir that gave the Buffs stiff competition in all areas of sports, including football where they garnered the reputation in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
So the move was a chance, that Mike Bohn could not help but salivate over, to conquer “new ground”. It’s a fresh start, on the gridiron in particular, a chance to break bounds, to not so analogous greener pastures and conquer new territory.
But where these vast ideologies stop, the new traditions should begin.
In the last four years Colorado football, it’s prescribed lore dissipating faster and faster, has been synonymous with a grinning South Park character and gargantuan losses, and repetition of those on the road. Boulder fans are now forced to take every opportunity, most often at home, to celebrate wins in the most obvious and cliché way possible. But I say lets run, nay, rush with it.
Let Colorado fans be joyful and exuberant after every win and stomp their way to the field.
Beat #6 USC on a last second field goal, rush the field. Beat Oregon State by overcoming a ten point halftime lead, rush the field. Heck, beat Arizona by 30 points, and let’s all rush Folsom Field.
Buffs win, we take like a sorority girl smoothie break, and rush.
It’s time for a tradition, a Pac-12 tradition in Boulder. I remember coming to games when marshmallows and tortillas flew through the air like a mini air-show. The fans were having a blast and the team was winning.
I remember coming to the CU versus Nebraska game with my father in 2001. The Buffs demolished the Cornhuskers, 62-36, in pure black and gold fashion. Students poured onto the field like ants on a picnic basket. And not far behind was an 11 year old kid and his dad. We walked down onto, what I recall as an illustrious field, one that I had seen my favorite players compete on week after week from the television screen. One of the best memories a sports-riddled kid could ever have.
Seven years later when I had to choose a college, and thus a team to root for, there was really no choice in my mind.
People will mock Colorado, they may think we are crazy. People, students and young fans alike that come to dream of the simple pleasure of watching Ralphie run and the Buffs play, will be united like no-place in the country after every Colorado win.
What a rush it will be.
Countymac doesn't know about this one. (But, I do remember the experience and these are great memories)
ReplyDeleteStart a tradition of coming onto the field AFTER the players get a chance to share the game with their counterparts from the other team maybe after a win - sure.
After a loss, the players will appreciate the fans singing the CU fight song from the stands and applauding, but the CU players (and opposing players after a CU win) don't need a bunch of wild things, who probably don't even know the score, running onto the field right after the game. The players have too much invested in the effort and want to share the experience with each other right after the game - and maybe family and friends. Give them some time to catch their breath and composure. Then get on the field in more control, still singing the fight song though - not many better fight songs than the CU song (well, except for the Mines fight song).
The tradition of respect for the players will be a better legacy (at least after a loss for sure).