Birth of a sports fan

A sea of orange bursts into wild cheers while a motley band of Falcons’ fans bursts into groans. And all the while we sat there silent and confused.

Such was the experience of us two non-sports fans in a sea of sports nuts on the biggest sports night in Saratoga of the year: the Los Gatos vs. Saratoga home-football game on Nov. 9. 

As two teenagers who know almost nothing about sports, we had the task of watching the LG game and seeing how we liked it.

High hopes fade quickly and decisively

We were excited for the game. “We actually have a chance of beating LG this year!” we thought. “Those Cats stand no chance!”

It was a far cry from the truth.

Upon arriving, we took a moment to survey the field. The visitors’ stands across the way looked packed. They were pumped up, waving banners, posters, and flags. They were a solid bloc of orange and black. We came out of our trance when LG scored two touchdowns early in the contest leading students next to us to boo.

Finally, the moment came. An offensive drive by Saratoga resulted in a touchdown. Our side exploded in an ear-splittingly loud cheer. 14-7.

“We might actually catch up and win this one!” we thought. We both stood up and waved our red towels like everyone else on our side.

Suddenly, a large fan directly behind us stood up and screamed, “Ref, if you’re gonna make calls like that, you might as well forfeit the game!”

We were absolutely astounded that fans could get so hostile over a topic like sports. They were not riled up over politics, nor anything that has anything lasting consequences after the game is over. Sports.

It was bitterly cold that night — in the 30s. Yet the 20 or more boys who make up the Code Red spirit group paraded onto the field with naked torsos. Sadly, not even their spirited cheerleading could bring our spirits up.

Code Red, in a last-ditch attempt to pump us up, started to chant “I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win!” This came just as LG scored a final touchdown, bringing the final score to 28-10.

We think this game truly made us step into the shoes of sports fans, and walk around in them. We felt the passion in the heat of the game, and during that last hour or so, we really felt like our well-being was tied to the fate of the game.

We can always beat them next year. Maybe next year, ‘Toga.

Maybe next year. Spoken like a true sports fan.