By Stephanie Dvorachek
It’s Football Season! You may be thinking to yourself, “I thought there were only four seasons – Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. What IS football season?” Football season is time of year starting in late summer and continuing until winter that people love to watch their favorite football teams in action, whether it is College Football, or professional football, otherwise known as the NFL.
One of the best parts about football season is the casual and fun atmosphere of the pre-game and game time football. Even though a football game might only last for two and a half hours, the entire day could be spent tailgating with friends before and after the football game. Orange hoodies and blue jeans compliment the crisp fall air. While tailgating before the start of an Illini game, you might see many people outside of Memorial Stadium tossing bags, hanging out with friends, and eating delicious food hot off the grill. It’s a great time to catch up with the new friends that you have made on campus, or meet new people.
Once inside the stadium, you’ll hear the chant of “ILL!” from one side of the stadium with the response of “INI!” from the other. If it is your first football game, you may wonder why fans are so hyped up, cheering and yelling for their team to move the football down the field to score a goal. Having a good football team is part of your school pride and school spirit, so the fans always want to see their teams do well during the football season. Many other traditions will be seen and heard during the course of the football game. Make sure that you are watching “Block I” for the tricks that they do with cards during the game, and the costumes that students wear in the student section. You might even spot Waldo. Also fun to watch is the halftime show featuring the Marching Illini as they march in formation to create “Illini” in the middle of the field and play music ranging from the Illini Fight Song to Top 40 hits. If you haven’t been to an Illini Game yet, I would definitely recommend this experience.