A Real Homecoming

Wow...so that’s what it feels like to go to a real homecoming game.

Don’t worry I’ve been to other homecomings. I went to every one of my lame high school games. But that was more about dressing up and being seen than it was about the actual football being played. I mean, when your team is so bad that they choose the local deaf school (I’m not even joking...I wish I was, but I’m not) in order to make sure that they walk away with a victory, you know that the football game isn’t why the stands are full. And then, there were my college homecoming games; um not going to lie, I actually didn’t go to a single one of those. In fact, I can honestly say that I have no idea if we actually had a homecoming game.

So yes, I was a bit homecoming-deprived going into last Saturday. But Berkeley was kind enough to let me be a part of their homecoming experience to see what it means to actually go to a sports-crazed school. And let me tell you, it was a blast! Sure, the actual game could have been better, but the atmosphere was an A plus!

My first real homecoming ever started with a BBQ at a park by Walnut Street. Disaster almost struck as a group of early bird tailgaters beat us to the park, but we found a second BBQ pit and all was good with the world again. After tons of beers, brats, and burgers, it was time to head down to the “Bears Den”. Others at the party tried to convince me to go to “Tightwad Hill” (apparently there is a huge hill that overlooks the stadium), but I just couldn’t get past the name. I mean, could you?

Unfortunately, my lack of experience in attending big games showed in my naive belief that 20 minutes to game time, we would be able to find a place to watch the game at the Campus Bar. As you can imagine, no such luck. A crowd of 100 packed into a place that probably holds about 30 comfortably just didn’t make for a great viewing arena, as the TV was always covered by some USC fan’s big head. But, though the game was almost unwatchable, the people watching opportunities more than made up for it!

At one point when we were walking to the bar, Elisa, Greg and I almost died of suppressed giggles when a group of 10 USC fans watched past us. It was like the Hills come to life! There was the natural blond girl in USC beads and a red USC shirt dress; there was the fake blond girl with shorts and uggs; there was the “cool surfer dude” with longish streaked hair and a backwards cap; and, of course, the guy with a blazer over a USC jersey with a diamond earring that could be seen across the street (so cool right? Lol). I think you guys get the picture ;P

The game ended up being completely dominated by USC. As a result, the already bigheads of the USC fans swelled to a disturbing size. I’m not joking; their overly teased out hair somehow managed to gain even more volume by the end of the night. Quite impressive actually, lol. So we eventually decided we had had enough and went back to watch the rest of the game in peace at Elisa's apartment.

Overall, my Saturday was amazing! Sure the USC fans sucked, but that was to be expected. So I would definitely recommend going to a game if you can manage it. Just make sure to get to the game early...and try to avoid Tightwad Hill at all costs!