For the entirety of last week, I was counting down the days until Saturday. It was my first game day as a student, and I was pumped to be able to cheer in the student section and experience MSU football from a whole other point of view. My friends and I got ready together, wanting to look our best for the first game. Little did we know what was to come when we stepped outside of our comfortable, humidity free dorms.
As we walked outside to make our journey to the tailgates, looking forward to some good food, we were immediately hit with the reality of what game day would be like in September. Our sunglasses instantly fogged up and the "sparkles" began to beam on our face. Luckily our walk to the tailgate wasn't too long, so we made a beeline to the fans and coolers of water. We spent time talking to our families and friends for a while before heading to the student side of the stadium. We ate some lunch, chugged water, and soaked up the shade. The 95-degree weather was already killing us, and then we were informed that the "feel like" temperature in the stadium was 110 degrees. The thought of that almost brought a tear to my eye (Or maybe it was just a drop of sweat, but anyway). We packed our purses with another water bottle, grabbed a plate to use as a fan, and went on our way.
Once we got to the line to get into the stadium, it was already miserable. Everyone was in a huge huddle, pushing to get inside and out of the beaming sun. Once we finally got in, we stayed in the shade for a little bit to recover. We finally got into the stadium and with our luck, the entire student section was right under the wrath of the sun. We cheered as hard as our sweaty, exhausted selves would let us, and left 5 minutes until half time. We treaded our way back to the tailgate along with many others who had the same idea. Everyone around us, including us, looked like they had just gotten caught in a summer shower. Once straight hair was now a frizzy mess and the make-up from the morning was now on the napkins taken from the tailgates. Once we finally got to the tailgate, we plopped down in the chairs in front of the fans. With water bottles behind our necks and napkins blotting our sweat covered make up, we finished up the game under the soul-saving shade of the junction.
Although the heat was awful, the atmosphere and the overall experience of my first game day as a student was as great as expected. The sound of cowbells and the smell of hamburgers and BBQ really knows how to lift your spirits. As we said our goodbyes to our families before walking back to the dorm for cold showers, we could only think about how excited we were for the next game day. The only thing we would do differently is bring a portable fan!
