This past Saturday on Oct. 4, Tomlinson stadium erupted in activity as CWU students enjoyed their first football game of the season to take place during the academic school year. The Wildcats of Central Washington University duked it out with the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico University, and while the game buzzed the town that night, the sense of community outside the game began far earlier. In the middle of the day on Friday, Oct. 4, RV’s began to trail into the surrounding gravel lots and emerged folding chairs, portable TVs, generators, grills, barbecues, and a feeling of school spirit that is sure to kick off the academic year with vim and vigor.
On game day, students and fans all did their parts to make sure operations ran smoothly. Members of other fall sports teams stood outside the tailgating lots, helping out: “Track and Field is here for a fundraiser for parking so that anyone for $10 can help us buy new Javelins, Shot Puts or Blocks,” said Freshman Blessing Ayodeji, an athlete from the Track and Field team who helped volunteer. Blessing and her teammates directed game-goers into proper spots and asked for donations to help support the team. Her teammates Joy Ayodeji and Keira Fleenor continued with the good vibes: “Shout out all of fall sports. I wish them a great season […] we believe in good humans, good athletes here at CWU!”
The tailgate parties continued right up to the beginning of the game, where a group of fans showed their school spirit by painting ‘GO CATS!’ on their bare chests, each fan donning one letter of the phrase. Blake Kjellesvik, a senior English major, talked about his experience of the game, the first CWU game he has ever attended. “I saw a big group at the front line […] C.A.T.S painted on their front chests…” Kjellesvik recounted. “They were doing the national anthem, and he stopped – mid track – just put his hand to his forehead and saluted that flag […] That was an image that I will live with forever.”
Kjellesvik continued, “This is my first time being to a tailgate, and I had a lot of fun. I was by myself, and I found some people, and they were very, very welcoming.” Looking past the fun and games of it all, Blake finished by describing the sense of community and providing us with a call to action: “We don’t have a lot of time left here […] so just to be able to meet these people and enjoy the time that we had, that was honestly what I needed for tonight to keep me going.”
The next home game is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18 against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Come see for yourself what Central Football has to offer, whether you are looking for a good time or just a sense of campus pride.
