10) Sights and Sounds of an SMU Game Day
There’s fewer better places on earth than a packed stadium on a warm October evening in the heart of Dallas Texas. Our SMU vs Tulsa game in 2019 was one to remember.
My day started on the “Boulevard” as I made my way from the stadium to the drop off location for the team busses. Walking up the boulevard I was surrounded by loud music, ranging from country music to rap music, the scent of a barbecue, the yelling of fans, and the heat of the fall sun shining down on my face. My job of capturing the game-day atmosphere was made incredibly easy by the vivid colors of fall trees and bright red and blue on fans’ clothing.
The game started and it was the first time we had faced adversity, as we were down 21 points heading into the fourth quarter. Fans started to leave, and it was looking like we were going to face our first loss of the season, but our team knew that wouldn’t be acceptable. Without getting too much into it, we had the game tied and went into three overtimes, and won the game on an incredible catch by James Proche. As the crowd was leaving in the 3rd quarter, as we made a come back in the 4th quarter the fans started to pour back into the stadium, and drift the direction of the stadium depending on where we were kicking. The energy and excitement were unlike anything I had experienced, I think my heart rate was the highest its ever been, as the stadium seemed to fall silent when Shane fired his throw off to James. The eruption of celebration was mind-crushing, and the fans storming the field and surrounding our team is going to stay one of my most vivid college memories.