If someone asked me why I love being a Coug, one of my top reasons would be because of football season.

Being a Coug fan brings on a lot of pressure. For the last couple years, we have been known to “Coug it.” Although, no matter what the score is, or what the record for the season is, everyone in Pullman, and so many more places around the country, will always be diehard fans.

Cougar Football Saturdays are like Christmas morning to most Cougs. We wake up, put on our Coug gear, and go straight to the first tailgate we can find. We crack open a can of Busch Light (for the true 21+ fans) and are off to a great start to the day.

Being in Pullman for game day is truly something else. There is not one unhappy fan walking around town that day. Everyone has the biggest smiles on their faces and is ready to cheer on their favorite team.

Whether you are a student, soon-to-be student, alumni, parent, or sibling, it is hard to not be affected by the fandom that is Coug fans.

I will admit growing up I was a Husky fan (Ew, right?) and never in a million years did I think I would ever end up at Washington State University saying “Go Cougs” at least a couple times a day. However, flash forward a decade and here I am loving every second of it.

I look forward to every home cougar football game every single season. I never understood what Pullman was like when it was game day until I experienced it. Now I will never miss a home game, because is there really a better place to be than in Pullman on game day? The answer will always be no.

So many people know this already, but when you are a Coug fan and you are wearing anything with Washington State University written on it, you are going to get a “Go Cougs” everywhere you go. What makes my day that much better is getting a “Go Cougs” when you are somewhere outside of Pullman.

I do not even want to think of graduating and only getting two more Cougar Football seasons as a student. I will be part of that alumni that comes back for at least most of the home games and has season tickets. My sorority sisters and I will be coming back every season for Cougar Football Saturdays to relive our glory days and pretend we are young again.

There is nowhere else I would rather go to school, and no team I would rather cheer on every weekend. No matter if we win or lose, I will always cheer on my Cougs. We have the best fan base, and I am so proud to go to school here.

Win or lose, we are Cougs.