Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Lets hear it for the internet!

Being an old fuddy-duddy (in a college town, that's anyone who remembers having to get up to change the channel), I'm not as quick to jump on all the wonderful toys available on the world wide web. As such, i've only recently discovered the amazing space-time continum bending propeties of YouTube and endless supply of clips of all shapes and sizes. So, I'd like to share some of the college football related videos I've stumbled upon recently.

Today's clips feature a couple of Michigan students who traveled to every home and away game the last two years and made short little videos about each one set to various classic (or at least old) rock tunes. Each one starts with some set-up, some pictures of them leaving home for the game, some video and pictures around campus before the game, some in-game crowd shots, and ends with the Michigan Daily headline.

We start with last year's game of the year, at Ohio State


Next, the trip to Penn State in late October


The F'in Beat Down in south Bend


Finally a shorter clip from the 2005 PSU game that features a great crowd shot after Manningham scores the winner.


The thing I like about these videos is that they capture some of the experiences of college football that aren't visible on a TV. For me, gameday is a total experience that starts the moment you leave home. Some of my most vivid memories of games when I was a kid revolve around the reaction in the crowd to the game, or of the pre-game hype and pagentry that envelopes the campus. This is especially true when you travel to an away game. Long before game time, usually when the most of the fans are still asleep, you don the battle gear and apply the war paint to begin the long trek to the game. The whole way there you are thinking about the game. By the time kickoff arrives, you have reached a feaver pitch. Usually you are significantly outnumbered, so you have to be at your loudest to be heard. Away college football games, especially against a rival, are the most intense sporting events out there.