I just got back from deployment #4 yesterday.  It proved to be a busy one; not only were operations fierce, but I finally got to sell my timeshare over there (anyone want beach-front property with no nearby water?).  It’s great to be reunited with wife and kid.  It’s great to know that if I go back to the desert, hopefully it’ll be from 20,000 ft overhead doing what I was ultimately trained to do.

My past two rotations happened to land smack-dab in the middle of football season (more specifically, college football since I don’t really follow the Pros).  Needless to say, constant operations (remember: everyday is Groundhog Day) really don’t allow you to watch the few games that do end up making their way on TV over there.  So I pretty much miss the excitement of it all and catch the weekly aftermath on the internet.

Luckily, arriving home will allow me to catch the last few games of this season, making this weekend my first weekend in almost 2 seasons to watch the one sport I love to follow.  Even better, I happened to catch the weekend that ESPN did their 2-hour College GameDay preshow at the Air Force Academy!

Everyone can brag about their respective colleges, but no college holds a candle to the full experience of going to a service academy game. At the Air Force Academy, it consists of an air show and football game rolled into one. The cadets march into the stadium to kick off the show as you’re making your way to your seat with a refreshing beer… followed by multiple fly-bys that completely rattle the stadium. The national anthem is sung with one last fly-over timed perfectly to the conclusion of the anthem… the last note gets drowned out by in-your-chest rumbling of some fighter jet formation using full afterburner, and just prior to kick-off, the parachute team drops into the football field, razzing the crowd even more.

Of course as a cadet, all of these festivities are mandatory; you have to make a good showing for all those viewing from the outside. Some cadets viewed this with the “mandatory fun” stigma (which everyone knows that “mandatory” and “fun” pretty much cancel each other out), but I think most (including me) made the best out of it: the game was free, and college football rocks (plus, I’ve always followed Air Force football since I was in high school). Yeah, the marching and formations sucked… but that was something I stiff-armed after joining the Jump Team! While I was watching GameDay, a cadet’s cynical humor caught my attention and made me laugh; I’m sure the more things change, the more they’ve stayed the same! Notice the sign in the background right next to Kirk Herbstreit at right!

To enjoy my re-introduction to college football, we’re going to a local sports bar to watch the games. Pam’s sister, Laura, is out here visiting to keep Pam some company while I was away (I didn’t think I was going to make it home until next week). Since she’s a huge Ohio State fan and alumni, hitting the sports bar will not only give us a piece of the college football atmosphere, but will also allow us to watch Ohio State vs Penn State at the same time the Air Force plays Army… Go Air Force!