Brittany Boak
Rough Draft Profile Essay
GSW 1100
18 September 2011
Intriguing Place= Perry Stadium at the Saturday Football Game
Dominant Impression= Entertaining place
Organization Plan= Narrative, with topics woven thought out
Time Spent So Far= 3 hours
Saturday Excitement
Introduction
It was September 17, 2011: game day at Bowling Green State University. The football team played Wyoming. As I represented the burnt orange and seal brown hoodie with my BGSU face decal on my cheek, I began to get pumped up. On my way over, I watched students, parents and fans walk into the stadium dressed in their orange and brown. I was getting closer to Perry Stadium. This is named after Doyt L. Perry who was the head coach at Bowling Green State University during 1952-1954. He is known for bringing excellence to the Falcon’s football team. As the cool breeze blew and the sun was hiding behind the clouds, I could hear the band playing Ay Ziggy Zoomba in the distance and I could see the stadium filled with people. Normally, I would see more tailgaters, but on this specific Saturday it was family weekend. I saw people big and small running around having a blast. It was a typical BGSU football game.
Topic: Going to the Game
The game began at noon that morning; I arrived at the stadium at ten o’clock. Finally after all the walking, I arrived at the cheerful place the Falcons called home. As I walked to the side of the stadium where the black gates tower above, all I could hear was the roaring of the crowd. I gave the man at the entrance my BG ID. Then I walked into Perry Stadium. Finally, I arrived in the stands where I saw the beauty of the stadium. The 3 million dollar renovations done to Perry Stadium in 2000 seemed to show. As the sun came out the green turf glistened and the huge scoreboard, although purchased in 1983, looked brand new as it flashed pictures and advertisements. As I took my seat on the first row of the 30 yard line, I watched the football team prepare for their second home game, the stadium began to fill up. Burnt orange and seal brown covered every part of the stands. Legend has it, that the Cleveland Browns played on this field as a result of losing cursed our field. Therefore cursing the BGSU Falcons hence why they lose so many games. The players finished their stretches and ran through some plays. As they lined up on the sideline the game began. As everyone arouse from their seats to cheer on the Falcons, I watched as the stands seemed to come alive.
Topic: The Game
Watching minute by minute of the game, I cheered and screamed even though I knew the players on the field couldn’t hear me. According to Stan Watson, assistant football coach at BGSU, the players are taught to ignore the crowd; they seem not to notice the crowd once the game begins. As the game went on, I watched as the coaches did these weird gestures to the players on the field and how players seemed to do the same thing to each other. Coach Watson said, “We use hand signals to communicate from coach to player and player to player. We also use hand signals to tell the players on the field what play to do.” However, as the game continued, some of those plays failed but the Falcons kept fighting for that win.
As a result, in the second quarter Wyoming was beating the Falcons by two touchdowns. As I sat in the stands, I thought back to the Friday night football games that all of my classmates at Olentangy High School attended. Now that I was in college, I knew that college games were really the place to be on Saturday. High school football doesn’t even compare to college games. This is something where people from all over can come and watch and an amazing team play against its fierce rivals.
Perry Stadium can hold up to 23, 724 fans in its new fiber glass seats and brand new bleachers that were put in around 2002. Perry Stadium is home of the Falcons and has been since 1937. Originally, it wasn’t where it is today. Due to the fact that it was built in the center of campus, it posed many issue. First its location prevented the construction of more academic buildings in the area, and second it prevented easy travel across campus. It was rebuilt and moved to the east side of campus in 1966.
I watched the rest of the game, cheering on the football team. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Falcons were down by one touchdown. People watched with anticipation. In the last minute Bowling Green scored a memorable touchdown. All they needed was an extra point, but in the end, the kick failed. Wyoming won the game. Coach Watson said, “Winning or Losing, it is a learning experience we take from and work on for the next game.”
Topic: The Battle of I-75
I sat there in disbelief, I thought to myself that the team really fought until the end. The game that I, and everyone else, is anticipating is the game against our rivals the Toledo Rockets This game has happened every year around homecoming season since 1919 The game is a tradition and a competition to take home a trophy called the Peace Pipe. This trophy is given to the winner to hold on to until next year’s rivalry game. In 1969, the trophy was actually stolen from the University of Toledo office. It wasn’t brought back until 1989. A replica of the original was made by a former UT football player who then donated it UT to begin the tradition again. Toledo has always been Bowling Green’s rival and they spend all year getting ready for this rivalry game. Coach Watson said, “Toledo is a really good team this year, they will be a great challenge we know we will get their best.”
What will remain in my heart will be the journey that the BG football program and stadium allowed me to be a part of my freshman year. The first interview with Coach Watson and it won’t be the wins, and it surely won’t be the losses, it will be the people.
Which is better: Winning or competing? My response is instantaneous: Competing…because it lasts longer.