As many of you know, the Michigan v. Ohio game this weekend was one of the closest and nerve wrecking of the season. I was lucky enough to be able to go see it with some family members right after Thanksgiving. It was absolutely wild. The energy and excitement in the air from both sides of the team were tangible. People fought, cried and had no problem showing off their teams color and yelling in your face about it.
But, I don't watch football avidly. I have minimal knowledge of football and have only been to a handful of games. I went as a completely neutral viewer and had little idea about what was going to happen. But I believe, as an outsider to the phenomenon known as American football, I was able to obtain and learn more about the culture around this popular pastime in our country.
One of the first observations I made walking through Colobus, Ohio was how many fans there really were. There was a literal Red Sea of people walking through the downtown area and parties at every other house and club I walked past. There were sprinkles of Michigan fans, of course, but it was nothing compared to the dedication and pride of the fans at their home town rooting for their favorite team.
It was almost surreal seeing the tailgates on every corner around the campus and thinking about how much beer must have actually been consumed before noon. People will do anything to rile themselves up for their favorite team! During the game, fans were committed as ever while the watched nervously and yelled and cheered for each play and couldn't think of anything else in the world expect for what was happening right then and there in that stadium.
One event I saw happen we're individuals fighting against each other who we're rooting for the same team. Both were men who seemed to be yelling more than others but then they decided they were going to yell at each other for yelling. Of course, these people aren't exactly what should represent football fans, as most are civilized good sports who just wanna have fun and see their team win. But these people made me realize part of why outsiders to football don't want to get involved in enjoying the sport. Football isn't something that should tear people apart but bring people together.
If any of you watched the halftime show, a good example of unity in football was the performance the band put on. Ohio's band had classic American anthems playing and made their march Olympic themed. At the end of their act, they invited the Michigan band to form a giant American flag the size of most of the football field. It was beautiful and showed the bigger picture of the game.
The big picture was that we were all just happy to enjoy the game and excited to watch our teams play. Unfortunately, someone decided to "boo" the Michigan band once it came onto the field with Ohio's. It just goes to show how many people actually take the division of football teams and the competition too seriously.
Once the halftime show stopped and the game went into the fourth quarter...then overtime...then double overtime, people were really forced to sit on the edge of their seats. The nail biting fourth quarter was enough to kill everyone. When Ohio won by three points, I watched the mayhem happen.
Fans jumping with joy, singing, dancing and flooding the field where the defended their title was magical. The happiness that filled the stadium that day was contagious, even for some Michigan fans. The smiles all around were enough to make anyone happy.
I believe that at the end of the day, football exists for that moment. The moment at the end of the game where people can exist and be happy. Where people who seem so different can come together and be one and the same.
