Tailgating.....or not.

The cadets before the game.

Eli and Uncle Tony drawing offensive plays in the dirt before the game

Jon. Logan and Tony.  I am soooo proud!

Leslie, Cadet Eli and Terry.

Our well behaved football gang!

Dalton!

Ash and Eli waiting for the jet flyover!

Is it me or did the tailgate party and the game last weekend seem umm somewhat calm.  I'm sure it couldn't be the fact that I am nearly fifty years old and getting entirely too old for such nonsense.  I however have to admit that on some deep (and twisted ) level I secretly love to watch and at times partake in tailgating and game nonsense.

Not this week though.  I have to say I have never seen such a group of quiet and mild mannered tailgate groups scattered throughout the dirt field outside the Airforce Academy stadium in Colorado Springs.  Ya, I know its the AF Academy, honor, integrity and all that, I get it.  What I thought though is that all that deep and honorable stuff would get squashed and overrun by the usual CSU shenanigans I am accustomed to.

There were no students walking dozens of blocks with a suitcase of Keystone Light parked on their shoulder making their way to the game.  There were no pickup loads of students and alumni in the back of Chevy pickups wedged in between the barbecue grill and the keg on ice loudly entering the parking lot.  I didn't see guys.... or girls for that matter, tired of waiting for the porta potty line to pee just outside an open car door.  In fact, I went to the porta potty one time during the tailgater and there was no line, none at all.  Unless I was coming down with a serious  sinus infection, it was one of the best smelling porta potty's I have ever used.  (I am thinking it must be some top secret military secret project that the general public knows nothing about).

I missed watching my boys, okay who are now grown and employed men, stir it up with fans from the other team.  I missed all the kids make an intoxicated attempt to sing the CSU fight song or lure the cheerleaders to their tailgate for a cold beverage.  I sound like I am talking about the students but make no mistakes the adults were just as bad (and good)   I didn't even witness one person throw up, not a one.

No, this tailgater involved young cadets sitting around in lawn chairs arranged in a semi circle sipping bottled water involved in quiet conversations.  Various scattered tailgate games could be seen throughout the parking lot....many of them didn't even involve drinking games!  I had no idea!   Weird!  Jon's nephew Logan (a CSU student) did challenge Jon to a shotgunning of the beers duel.  Jon lost, really lost.  Then it was done, over.  If this game would have been in FoCo, the duel would have lasted until game time or until the horse mounted police game by and hauled one of them away.

Of course the game was  not great if you are a CSU fan, but I have never seen the most well behaved crowd at a game before.  No screaming, no boobies, no Aaron Cook sitting in the middle of the AF crowd chanting down with Obama or anything.  Yes it was a very conservative crowd indeed, you may take that comment as political satire if you want....I'm just saying.  The AF fans sitting next to me tried to strike up a polite conversation.  Of course I immediately asked Jon to trade me places!

I do have to admit the pageantry of the Academy was impressive.  Watching all the cadets march onto the field in their squadron and then run into the seats, followed by a flyover and paratroopers was actually pretty cool, even for a gal who prefers to sit on the...left side of the stadium, if ya know what I mean.

Oh and just as a public service announcement to ...anyone interested.  If you are attached to one of the Cook men, you never leave a football game early.  No matter how boring it is, how much of a blowout it is, how hot it is, how cold it is or how late you are to another engagegment.  You never EVER get the opportunity to leave a football game early.