America's Sport

Every human craves competition. Sports allow people to compete, unite together, and create memories on and off the field. Whether it is the Olympics or little league, sports fulfills the same basic desire for competition. All sports are fun, but I believe football is best. 

   Football is engaging, fun, and cultivates school spirit. Truly nothing is more nerve racking than 4th and goal on the one yard line. The mixture of nerves and suspense is incredible. Then when your team pulls through and scores, nothing  can match the energy in a stadium at that moment. Interceptions, fumbles, missed field goals, overtimes, upsets are all moments that make football the best. 

    Fall is my favorite season simply because of the cool weather and the arrival of football. Waking up on a Saturday morning, cuddled up on the couch watching College Gameday, is the most ideal day. Coming to Baylor and getting to experience home games almost every other Saturday is the best part of college. Sitting in the student section at McLane Stadium produces a sense of unity among the students and cultivates school spirit. Watching the players give it their all and perform well creates a sense of school pride, which every great university desires. 

Football played well looks like a well-rehearsed dance. When every player executes with perfect precision, the results are beautiful. Imagine the o-line creating a pocket so the quarterback has time to drop back and adjust his view of the field, the receiver gets to the exact spot, and a beautiful spiral is thrown and completed for a first down. Nothing is better. 

My favorite football game was the Big 12 Championship game. My friends and I loaded up in my friend's car and drove up to AT&T Stadium together. The day was truly perfect. We got Chick-fil-A, the traffic was light, and spirits were high. As fans, we had no idea what the outcome of the game would be. We had previously lost to OSU, and our starting QB was injured. Despite the unknown, we were confident in our Bears. As the players were warming up, we knew that Blake Shapen would be our QB for the game. I, personally, was excited for him to be the starter. 

The entire game was high-spirited and fun. My seat was ten rows from the field and right next to the band. The student section was full of energy, we were ready to win. Baylor came out in the first half looking strong, passes were completed and tackles were made. Watching Baylor compete so well was thrilling, every fan was engaged. I had never experienced such a game. I remember turning to my friend, Hayden, and telling him I had never seen Baylor look so good. I would love to have been in the locker room at halftime to hear the pep talks for each team. 

Second half was like an entirely different game. Baylor was leading going into the half 21-6, but by the final minutes of the game, it was 21-16, and OSU had the ball. The game came down to the wire, with only a minute and a half left, OSU marched down the field a total of 89 yards and found themselves with a first and goal from the one. The crowd was going crazy and OSU assumed they would win.The next four downs felt as if they would last forever. I had no doubt that the defense could hold, but it seemed impossible. With every play, my heart paused and my hands began to sweat more and more.  I was so immersed in this game, it felt to be the most important thing in the world. Then, what I think to be the finest play in all of football history was made. It was fourth down still from the one yard line, OSU ran to the left and Jairon McVea tackled the OSU player at the pylon, the ball did not cross the line! I had never seen a play so close to scoring but yet so far. Baylor won the game! It was truly incredible. Everybody was hugging, high-fiving, crying, I have never been so happy. I would want to relive this day forever and it was definitely the best memory of my freshman year. The car ride home was incredible because we were truly so happy. It was awesome winning but I think the way the game ended made it so incredible. I truly think this is why football is the best. The suspense, the art, the enthusiasm, nothing can match it.