Well, it appears to be that time of year again.
Homecoming spirit has once again managed to pervade our campus and with it comes the usual array of once-a-year novelties: floats, parades, old drunk alumni reminiscing about their days here. Coupled with the additional craziness of Halloween, it promises to be an affair not to forget. Costumes will be worn, parties will be planned, and on Saturday, football will be played. For if there is one thing that truly symbolizes this great tradition, it is the annual Saturday football contest.
Apart from maybe the revelry enjoyed in the Pub each homecoming weekend, the football game proves to be the one constant that students and students of yore can share on a common level. Football is football, and though Camp Randall may now have turf, and though a couple more Rose Bowl banners may now hang among its rafters, the basic fundamentals of this great game remain unchanged.
Football is also a very unique American experience, a sport that some have even begun to refer to as our national pastime. The significance of this cannot be overstated.
In light of recent circumstances, events like these are important as they bring together people of many different backgrounds and allow them to relate with one another in a way that would have otherwise not been possible.
Sure, arguing with some old guy at State Street Brats about why Anthony Davis is on track to become UW's next Ron Dayne or whether Lee Evans will turn pro next year may seem, in the grand scheme of things, pretty trivial, but the fact that it is two strangers talking about something as American as fireworks and the Fourth of July is anything but.
In any part of the world, such an occasion would most likely be celebrated in a much different fashion. If we lived in England, or Germany, or basically any country in Western Europe for that matter, soccer would be our game of choice. If we lived in Ireland we might play football but it would be Gaelic football, a game much more like rugby than our four-down American version.
In Afghanistan, a country recently making headlines, the national sport is called Buzkashi. It is an ancient game pitting two teams of horsemen against each other to fight for possession of a headless goat carcass. Points are won by gaining control of this carcass and delivering it to a designated scoring area. (And so I guess there are many things about this country which will remain misunderstood.)
But here in America we play football. It is a game which most inhabitants of foreign countries have only a vague idea (if any) of how to play, and that is all right. It is something which separates us from the rest of the world and it is something we can take pride in. It is a part of our national identity.
And so while the temperatures look as if they may be a little chilly this weekend, let us nonetheless pile on the red and white (and if you are feeling patriotic maybe a little blue) and head out to Camp Randall this Saturday to cheer on our gridders as they do battle with Michigan State.
And if that old drunk guy at the bar spills a beer on you, buy him another. Because we are all Americans and if there is one thing besides football which we can do better than any other country it is drink.
God bless America!
