The first game: September 1. Minneapolis. New Mexico State Aggies visiting the Minnesota Golden Gophers. I decided to support my Aggies and attend.
In hindsight, I chalk this up to: “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
The evening began fairly well. I had no problem with parking, and walking to the stadium was pleasant. There was no wait for me to enter Huntington Bank Stadium since I wasn’t carrying anything. My seat was a good one and the fans nearby were cordial. The pregame skydivers were a nice touch and it’s always good to hear the college bands.
I wasn’t expecting the Aggies to seriously challenge the Gophers. And yes, as the first quarter commenced, NMSU appeared very out of their league. Lots of three-and-outs for the offense and their defense seemed mismatched against the maroon and gold.
Yet I was mentally prepared for the poor play and being outscored rather easily. For me, however, the worst moment came via the Jumbotron and fans. During one of the TV time outs, the video board displayed a message (I think it was one of those Taco Bell-sponsored bits), saying something such as “Having a bad day….means wearing the opposing team’s colors.” Then the director cut to a shot of a woman wearing an NMSU shirt (yay crimson and white!). The crowd then let out a loud “Booo!”
I was livid. I was furious. I was incensed.
Memo to Minnesota: This is NOT how you treat your visitors. And lest you think this is a common thing for college football, let me say I attended several Kansas State home games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and the video crew never did any such thing. In fact I had a three-game package one year which had me adjacent to the block of seats for the visitors. I always was cordial to the opposing fans, whether they represented Baylor, TCU, or West Virginia. They seemed to appreciate my being polite.
My opinion of the Golden Gopher faithful quickly changed into one of disdain. I think I was in a state of shock that a school of this caliber would do something so bush-league, so unsportsmanlike.
The Aggies continued to struggle (unsurprisingly) and Minnesota seemed much more focused and ready. I sauntered around the stadium concourse during halftime, then lingered into the 3rd quarter, but no real offensive display from my Aggies. I finally elected to leave about midway through that quarter, given I had over an hour drive home and intended to go to work the following day.
I was dejected. Also wondering if the Aggies would even win a game this season, given they had so few returning starters.
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The second game: November 26. The Aggies are at Lynchburg, Virginia to play Liberty. Turned to the game on ESPN+ as I happened to be home and certainly was curious. I noticed that the Aggies happened to notch a few W’s in the meantime, including the beauty of them all, beating the University of Nothing Much. The game was already in progress with the score tied at 7. Then the Aggies scored a TD. Then another. Then another.
Holy moley! Liberty is no pushover and they’re at home. This isn’t supposed to happen, is it?
The Aggies kept moving offensively. And scoring. And scoring. Not field goals, either.
Final score: Aggies 49, Flames 14.
I think I had some tears of joy flowing. Quite the opposite from September 1.
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The third game: December 26. Quick Lane Bowl. Detroit.
I bought a month of Sling TV largely to catch this game on ESPN. (Of course, the many other bowl offerings on the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network doesn’t hurt either.)
Aggies score first! Then they have great control for the next three quarters. Late in the game it got a bit dicey, as Bowling Green made a game of it. The Aggies shot themselves in the foot a bit with a blocked punt that wound up being a safety (better than giving up a touchdown, right?) and a punt that went only 14 yards. However the guys in crimson held it together and they did a great job in closing out the game, gaining some critical first downs in the closing minutes.
A quick aside: I got a lesson in geography and one of the schools in the Mid American Conference. I kept hearing “Bowling Green” as the Aggies’ opponent in this game, yet I kept thinking of Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Nope Geoguy! Bowling Green, Ohio! Which is only 84 miles from Detroit. Therefore the Aggies winning the game was sweet enough, but to think they did it in front of a largely Bowling Green crowd is even better!
Incidentally, the institution in Bowling Green, Kentucky is Western Kentucky University. Which is a member of Conference USA, which the Aggies will be joining in summer 2023.
Yes, I did a little homework in the meantime.
While I still have simmering resentment towards the Minnesota crowd, overall I couldn’t be more happy for NSMU’s football program this year. Congratulations team, and Coach Jerry Kill!
