The Wildcat's Den

(x-posted from Blogspot)

USU-byu basketball game tonight. It was "Adventures in Hardcore Fandom" to the extreme.

First, you have to get in line, which some enterprising individuals started YESTERDAY at 4:30 pm - set up a tent and everything! By 3:00 this afternoon, my roommate called to tell me that the line was around the Spectrum and all the way to the HPER building, so I might want to think about going to stand in line. Also, I was planning on going with some friends who both worked until later, so it would behoove me to go save a place for us.

So, I went. It wasn't too bad - then the sun went down. Holy. Crap. Can you say "Frostbite?" Some people standing next to me in line started playing "Ninja Destruction," a game that should have more movement than it does to keep you warm, but I was still freezing. I texted one of the friends coming with me, asking her to bring a blanket. She texted me back saying she didn't have one, but would I like hot chocolate? She brought the goods - and it was HOT. But I chugged it down like it was Gatorade. It warmed me up for a little while.

THEN - it was finally time to go into the Spectrum. We were dang lucky - I swear they shut the doors right after we swiped our student ID cards. Now a new problem: finding seats. I think some people snuck in without checking their cards, so there were NO SEATS in the student section -_-' We tried to commandeer some season ticket holders' seat - until they showed up :( Then we tried to stand in the aisle without getting caught. But some "nice" people pointed out two empty seats next to them and we took them before security could come clean us out of the aisles (I'll explain why "nice" is in quotations in a moment).

Oh - I made signs for this game. But we were so far up - we were behind the giant American flag in the corner, so if I held up my signs, no one would be able to see them. I compensated by holding them lower - but then the teeny-bopper freshmen behind me (who wouldn't know a basketball from a... never mind...) kept whining that they couldn't see and the "nice" guy next to me kept glaring. But, there were a couple of short Mexican kids in front of me who no savvy loco Americanos and they sat down frequently so I could display my signs without angering the locals.

And this is the best part - a few rows down, another kid had a sign that he kept holding up (it wasn't blocking anything). The "nice" guy next to me yelled for him to put it down, but he didn't hear him (try hearing anything more than six inches away when the Spectrum is in full basketball mode). "Nice" Guy procures an empty water bottle and chucks it at Sign Boy, beaning him on the head. Sign Boy looks around for the culprit - I discreetly jab my thumb in the direction of "nice" guy - Sign Boy sees it and flips "Nice" Guy" off. I felt vindicated. If I couldn't directly annoy byu fans, at least I got the jerk next to me flipped off.

Oh yeah, the game: I will say this - I'm thankful my boys shot poorly in the first half and not in the second half. Every time they let the long bomb go, I wanted to crawl in a hole. I had flashbacks of last Saturday, it was so bad. But we pulled it out and I am happy. The last USU game I attended before I graduated two years ago, we played Idaho and we lost. That was not a happy thing. I'm glad that they won this game, which is the actual last game I got to see as a USU student. The fact that it was byu is icing on the cake.

Even though I didn't get people to see my signs - people in line liked them. Other sign-makers weren't as creative. One doof just wrote "byu isn't very good." I don't want to disparage my fellow Aggies, but what kind of creativity does that take? Another sign said "Cats lick themselves" (WTF?) and one just said "byu swallows." I simply can't believe it - I had at least ten clever ideas and that's the kind of crap you come up with? I think you need to be behind the flag in the nosebleeds.

Though the best one that wasn't mine (face it, mine were pretty good) was "Coach Rose still owes me gas money from last year." There were plenty referencing max hall's idiocy (we even got to chant "Classless" at the few byu dorks that made the trip. I was shocked that they were even there - I thought they could only find Vegas).

All in all - a happy day. Revenge is a dish best served cold (cold here meaning sub-zero temperatures - my thumbs still haven't recovered).

(What kind of name is "Jimmer?" Seriously - what were your parents smoking?)

I have pictures, but it's late and I don't feel like fighting with LJ to get them up here. They are at my Blogspot blog, so you can look there if you have a desperate, burning desire to see them. If not, they'll be up here tomorrow, most likely.