Football Fever

This week was the start of the football season, which is a pretty big deal over here.   They have had the pre-season matches, and even the training sessions get thousands of spectators.  The Denver Bronco's played their first match against the Baltimore Ravens, who knocked them out of the SuperBowl at the beginning of the year.  You know when there is a game on, because even though they didn't play until 6pm, everyone downtown was wearing their Bronco's gear, as well as all the kids and teachers at school - it is a bit full on.  The game was delayed by an hour, as there was lightening around.  They won though, so that was a good result. 

Each afternoon lately, there has been a thunderstorm.  They can be short, but powerful.  Apparently Colorado is the 10th highest state for lightening deaths, I think because of the altitude, so they take lightening very seriously.  If there is lightening around, they won't release the kids from school to walk home, they have to be signed out of the classroom by a parent.  The boys soccer training has been cancelled a few times already, as of storms. 

Luke and Ryan played their first game of soccer for the Fall season.  They are playing on the same team, which makes it a lot easier for us.  It was Ryan's first game on a full sized field, and he played really well.  He also had some time in at goalie, which he enjoyed.  They won 5-1, and Luke scored 4 goals, so he had a really good game.  It is still really warm here, and was around 96 degrees on Saturday, which converts to 35 Celsius, so it was lucky they had an early game.

When the boys finished their soccer game, we met up with some friends and headed out to Colorado Springs, as CITEL, the exchange people, had organised tickets to a College football game between the Air Force Falcons, and Utah Stated Aggies.  A lot of the Australian exchange teachers and their families attended, so it was nice to catch up with everyone.  You can see from the photo at the top,  Quinn was pretty happy to be seeing his friend Astrid again!  We were told to arrive early (which is why there are so many empty seats behind them), as the car park fills up early.  The stadium holds over 30,000 people, and this is just for college football, not the pro-football!

So when the people arrive early to get parks near the stadium, they set up their tents and BBQs out in the car park, and do their 'tailgating'.  This is a new term for us, and basically it is having a cook out, out of the back of your car.  This is an event in itself, and people grill heaps of meat, start drinking, play frisbee, and generally have a big party in the car park!  Apparently, at bigger games, there can be just as many people partying in the car park, as there are inside the stadium.

As the game was at the Air Force Academy, it was a little different to other games (apparently).  Unlike other colleges, they don't have students who attend on football scholarships, or the like.  Everyone that was at the game, from the brass band to the players, to the cheerleaders, were all students at the Academy.  All the cadets are expected to attend the matches, and are also the ushers in the stadium, as well as part of the entertainment.   Apparently, the Academy is very difficult to get into, and most of the students, as well as being very smart, are recommended by their State senators, or congressmen.  As a result, they don't very often have a strong football team, and that was pretty evident in the final score!

I was more interested in the pre-game entertainment, and it did not disappoint!  When we first arrived, the team was out on the field warming up - and that went on for over an hour.  When the official entertainment began, about half an hour before the game, it started with five guys and girls jumping out of a plane, with parachutes, which you can see in some of the photos.  Their mascot, the falcon, also arrived this way.  Next was the brass band, who entered the stadium and were then followed by a lot of the cadets, who marched onto the football field in perfect formation.  Then the cheerleaders formed a line for the football players to run onto the field behind some big flags - there would have been over 100 players run through!  There are only 11 players on the field at a time, but they have a defensive team, offensive team, 'specials' team, and they would have had at least another 100 players on the sideline, all dressed to take the field, along with coaches and a heap of other staff.  You can see in the photos, the Air Force Academy players are in blue and white - there are heaps of them.



 The game finally started, and it is the most stop-start game ever.  A 60 minute game of 4, 15 minute quarters, usually last between 3 to 4 hours.  They are stopping the clock constantly.  If the Academy scored a touchdown, a group of about 100 cadets would come down onto the field and do push ups.  There was an acrobatic team on the sideline which had guys throwing girls, and balancing them  up in the air, the cheerleaders with their pom-poms and the band which would come up into the stadium randomly, and perform on the stairs. 

   I don't think it is like anything else I have ever attended!  It seemed to keep everyone entertained for the whole time though, along with all the food vendors who were there.  The score ended up 53-21, to Utah State, and I certainly wasn't disappointed when the game ended. 

Afterwards, our group of about 25 went back to Jane and Bruce's house, who are on exchange in Colorado Springs from Adelaide, for a BBQ and debrief of the match.

Here is a link to some video one of the aussie girls put together from our day at the footy.  Mostly of the Air Force Band warming up in the tunnel prior to the game, and shows just how good the entertainment was - which was mainly what I was there for anyway, as I didn't really have much idea of what was going on in the game!  If you look carefully, you can see them picking up the dollar bills that people were throwing down to them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dbne3_Yt90