For new students at the University of Tulsa, there is no better way to get involved than investing in Tulsa football.
Fall means many things to many people. For those who enjoy the great outdoors, it brings cooler weather and the beauty of changing leaves. For parents and teachers, it means the beginning of a new school year. For freshmen in college, fall marks the beginning of a new phase of life. There is one part of fall which remains constant, however, because fall means football, which makes it the most exciting time of year for football fans across the country. College football is far more than just a sport. It is a unique little corner of American culture, spanning 12 Saturdays in the fall, which draws so much passion that millions of Americans align their entire lives around it. Furthermore, it has something to offer to everyone, even those who might not consider themselves traditional sports fans.
Imagine the scene: you open your eyes on a Saturday morning, and after laying in your bed for a few seconds it dawns on you. It’s a Saturday in the fall. For those of us who grew up around college football, the excitement that comes along with that realization is only paralleled perhaps by birthdays and holidays. Everything kicks off with College Gameday, the legendary show that has aired for decades from a different campus during each week of the season, showcasing everything about the incredible atmosphere surrounding a college football game. The show adds to the building excitement that culminates in the 11 a.m. kickoffs, which begins a solid 10 hours of pure chaos. For most fans, the day revolves around their favorite team’s game, but for casual fans, or even during your team’s bye week, just taking in a college football Saturday is an experience that is well worth the eight month wait for fall’s arrival.
The experience is taken to yet another level, however, for those who are lucky enough to be attending a game in person. The atmosphere on a college campus on gameday is unparalleled, more closely resembling a fairground than the scene of a mere football game. The sights, smells, food and activities that saturate a tailgating scene promise fun for any and all. The slight chill left behind by the first cold front of fall and the changing leaves add to the already beautiful campuses all over the country. Then there is the game itself. A big time college football game between nationally ranked programs is certainly a sight to behold. But one thing which sets college football apart entirely is the way that fans measure success, and the passion with which they support their teams through thick and thin.
In other sports such as college basketball, and in professional sports, teams are judged by whether they make the playoffs, and what they do once they reach them. The sport is defined by the postseason, and if you watched nothing more than the NFL playoffs, October baseball or March Madness, you would be seeing almost everything their respective sports have to offer. While the postseason offers a great spectacle in other sports, with an incredible atmosphere, college football is entirely unique in that it has revolved always around the regular season, and for good reason. In no other sport would teams with the respective resources of Tulsa and Ohio State be playing the same sport in the same league. The variance in size, location, talent pool and money possessed by the 136 teams that compose FBS football is something that can only be found in college football, and because of that expectations are properly calibrated by the fans. Here at Tulsa, for example, we have never won a national championship and in the current environment will probably never come close, but the beauty of this sport is that we do not have to win the biggest trophy the sport has to offer to be proud of our team. We compete to win our conference, and hopefully to make and win a bowl game, and we celebrate those successes the same way that fans at Ohio State celebrate national titles. The fact that so much passion exists even here at the smallest Division I school in our students, alumni and fans, and that we have players willing to put their bodies on the line for this university proves that college football has something special to offer to all of us.
For new students, returning students and the wider Tulsa community, there is no better time to invest in this amazing sport, culture and community than now. If you are reading this as someone who perhaps did not grow up in a college football household, or maybe even as someone who is not a huge sporting fan in general, I would simply suggest giving it a try this fall. Athletics is a wonderful way to get involved on campus and meet other people with school spirit. Come and see what it is all about on Sept. 5 when Tulsa plays host to Oklahoma State. Come hang out with friends at the tailgates, meet other students, faculty and alumni, get some delicious food, watch the marching band perform and get hyped up in the Chaos Student Section. We can promise that once you are here, you will not need any more convincing, because college football sells itself.
