Fall is a great time of year: the leaves changing colors, comfy sweaters, apple picking, and fun pumpkin patches. But the thing most people look forward to is something I don't fully understand the game of: football. High school football, college football, any and all football. But I love that people go crazy for their favorite teams, fantasy football leagues are made, and the commitment for this American game is amazing. I just wish I knew it better. But, this year I think I'll learn a lot more.

I've never known much about football. In high school, I went to a good handful of football games, but more for the social aspect than to actually watch the game. I cheered when other people cheered and booed when other people booed. But they were fun. Attending the sister college of a very football-orientated university is a blessing.

I went to my first college football game two weeks ago. A Notre Dame versus Nevada game on the 10th of September and this past weekend a Notre Dame versus Michigan State game. To say the least, they were amazing. The energy, the crowd, and the dedication to the team was insanely overpowering and intoxicating. And for a first-time college football goer like myself, they were a great experience.

The dedication the fans and the families have for the team is incredible. The amount of people who show up hours earlier than the game to tailgate make me appreciate the sport even more. I hardly know anything about the game, but the crowd's enthusiasm for it makes me wish I did.

Something new for me at the games were this thing people did after every touch down called 'push-ups.' They're when someone is lifted into the air, push-up style and about five or six people, depending on the person being held up, help them do pushups in the air. To see a bunch kids being held up in the air and trusting other people to hold them up is so cool. The atmosphere and the people make the game even more exciting.

It is truly exhilarating watching the fans go crazy over their favorite teams and seeing the joy and excitement before each game. After each winning game, the enthusiasm of the fans becomes infectious and I myself join in the postgame festivities. An American pastime is truly just that, it is the best way to come together as a community and celebrate something so simplistic but yet has the power to do so much.