There are a lot of things that I wasn't really crazy about growing up in Kansas but one of the things that I was in love with was the change in seasons. PA has amazing seasons as well. The color of the leaves will take your breath away.
Although the first day of Autumn is not technically until the 22nd of September the start of football season for our family has always marked the true beginning. When living in KS we were regulars at the Kansas State Football home games. As students we never missed a single game and planned our weekends around the tailgating activities as well. Although we personally were never season ticket holders once graduated we always "knew" enough people to get tickets to just about every home game.
There was nothing like the smell of charcoal early in the morning, drinking mimosa/beer/mixed drinks/etc, and the oh so yummy food (chili, hot dogs, casseroles, dips, etc, etc) with the electric atmosphere of everyone excited for the big game. For us K-Staters the color of choice was of course purple. We bleed purple and never before will you have seen the sea of purple as thousands of fans enjoy a great day before the game even began.
Our last year living in KS I was pregnant (about as pregnant as I am now) with Palmer. Emily was just over 2 years old and was the proudest K-State fan you had ever seen. Dressed in her cheer leading outfit, tattoos on her cheeks, pompoms ready to go, and her hair all decked out she was READY. She loved going to the games as much as we did. Having been invited onto the field several times she felt that Willie the Wildcat was her personal friend. Knowing the different songs that the band played and the rituals that came with them was one of her finest moments. There was even a time Emily had an entire section of the crowd cracking up as she heckled the opposing team's mascot all on her own (I believe it was the Louisville cardinals and she was say "YUCKY BIRD!!!" at the top of her lungs) much to her proud father's delight.
We miss going to the games and also being able to watch them regularly on TV. There a few scheduled games we are planing to watch online and we still dress in our purple every game day. This season is pretty important to K-State fans. Bill Snyder, our legendary past coach, retired 3 years ago. After 3 miserable heart wrenching seasons Coach Snyder has returned to rebuild what was during his time one of the greatest comeback teams in the history of college football. It will take time to rebuild but the best part about the start of the season is that the sky is the limit.
Instead this weekend we are going camping. Nothing says fall better than homemade cinnamon rolls so until late last night that is exactly what I did. As I packed jackets, hooded sweatshirts, and of course marshmallows I was reminded of how we used to spend our Saturdays and the comfort that I found in the reminder that only a few more years and we will be right back in the thick of it. Hopefully by that time Snyder will have our back on top. GO K-STATE!
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