While day to day life in Huntsville tends to be on the dull side, with regular trips to Wal-Mart being the place to see everyone you know and buy everything you need, for one night of the year, things get a little wild.
Coming from a family of Mississippi State grads who would rather die a painful death than cheer for the University of Mississippi, I’ll admit that my expectations for the whole SHSU/SFA rivalry were a bit low.
But after attending our football game against Stephen F. Austin University this past Thursday, my thoughts have completely changed.
It takes a very brave person to adorn themselves completely in purple. Yet this color handicap possessed by the Lumberjacks didn’t stop them from flooding our campus and attempting to out cheer, out dress and out score us. Some even went so far as to deface our beautiful new baseball field, which they should regret after we pay them a little visit in Nacogdoches next football season.
As the teams lined up to play, the stadium was deafening and everyone was sure their team would win. Yet as the game progressed, it became clear that the Bearkats had it together while the Lumberjacks didn’t seem to be sure of what it was they were trying to accomplish. The offense performed so efficiently, and the defense was so on top of their game that I’ll probably have to write an entirely separate article just analyzing their outstanding play.
Perhaps no one told the SFA fans that purple body paint is not flattering. Maybe they couldn’t see that Kooter the goat is by far cooler than the tall man with the bushy beard carrying around the cardboard pick-axe. But none of them could miss the 52-24 score on the board as they filed out of Bowers Stadium with their tails between their legs.
While it’s indisputable which school is best on the field and off, both SHSU and SFA should be commended for keeping up such an intense and outstanding rivalry. For this year, we’ve got all the bragging rights, thanks to our boys on the field. Regardless of records or conference standings, SHSU is lucky to be ensured that one game on the schedule that will get everyone excited and get this college town to bleed orange.