My game day started at 2 when Rachel arrived at my house early so we could grab the new makeup before practice. It was crazy. I forgot my uniform so we had to go back to my place. Then the store was out of the makeup we needed. I forgot to get fake eyelashes. And Rachel and I had hardly eaten anything that day so we grabbed Wendy's too. All in forty minutes. But at last we made it to the stadium for practice. A tender mercy, we didn't start for 20 minutes. Thank goodness!
After practice, we had less than an hour to eat, dress, curl our hair, and put on makeup. The food was Blackjack pizza--1 pizza per 2 people. That's a lot of pizza! Pizza I couldn't finish. Then in a mad rush, I got everything else ready, including curling my hair in three minutes. That's a feat. Then, in another mad dash, the colorguard grabbed our equipment and headed to practice, where it preceded to rain and my hair went flat.
But being in the stadium made up for my flat, lifeless hair. The people streaming into the stadium, watching the pre-concert, wandering the aisles. The energy was intense. And it only intensified when I got on the field. There's nothing like being on a football field with 50k+ people surrounding you. I loved them. I wanted to give my all to these strangers in the stands, give them a good show. Adrenaline rushed through my body. I was alert and ready. Then as I watched the football video with past BYU football moments, I admit I got a little teary-eyed. I just forgot how much I love performing and BYU football. I'm obsessed. Honestly, I think I'm going to be one of those season ticket holders who dress their babies in Cosmo and BYU cheerleader outfits, indoctrinate their children that people who go to the U are "gypsies and thieves," and go family portraits in front of the Cougar.
My Pre-game went well. I even made it on the new giant LCD screen. That's an accomplishment. And then, in a new twist, I spun to the fight song while fireworks went off 10 yards away from me. Scary? YES! I got hit with sparks.
Another new twist to this season was the pompoms. Sure it felt a little weird dancing with pompoms in the stands, but once again I was on the big screen and I made it on ESPN!!! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! National television, baby. But the downside to this new setup is I lost my great view of the game. Now students block my sight. Bummer. But maybe exposure on tv offsets the bummer factor? We'll see.
Halftime was great. I just felt the crowd's energy course through me through the whole show, especially when we performed Rolling in the Deep. Sassy, sassy, sassy! And I got to see my former roommate, Sarah, on the sidelines. Way fun!
The game was good. As expected, BYU beat Washington State. The band played Celebration and then we performed our fifth quarter concert. After cleaning up the guard room and saying a group prayer, I made my home.
Time: 12:30 AM
Yes, the first game day was crazy! But it was a great start to an awesome season!
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