American Footballing Frolics

Here you go:

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Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm not really the biggest sports fan, in fact I usually lose interest in even the most culturally significant sporting events after about 15 minutes of viewing. However, I think I have discovered a sport that can hold my attention - American football. Granted, this is largely due to the fact that there are lots of fun things going on besides the game itself, such as huge brass bands marching around, cheerleaders dancing and performing surprisingly impressive gymnastic feats (it really is like "Bring it On"), mascots riding around on motorbikes (the "Demon Deacon", quite a scary looking character), fighter jets making a flyover of the stadium, not to mention all the chants, songs and rituals they have to keep you involved. Examples of these at Wake Forest, the college some of my Winston-Salem friends attend and thus my adopted team, include the "fight song," complete with complicated hand clapping segments, key jangling ("go home" this is meant to tell the opposition) and the Wake Forest "whoosh" which I can't really describe without demonstrating in person, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Even more fun awaits after the game if Wake Forest win, as the students then have carte blanche to festoon all the trees in the main quad with loo roll. Saying all that, I did actually pick up the gist of the sport itself, after several lessons from Rich and Ryan, and I can honestly say I enjoyed myself and would watch another game. Just not on TV, you can't see the band or the cheerleaders there...