It’s a bright and early morning in the Promised Land, 7 am to be exact - and you’re sound asleep in your bed. You are abruptly awoken by the Fight Song being performed by the band who’s marching all over campus and has stopped in front of your window to play for you. There’s no going back to bed now. It’s officially Cougar Football Saturday.

CFS is finally returning to us, and we could not be any more excited.

The return to Pullman means the return of football season. We fellow Cougs have been anticipating the start of this for far too long now. It’s almost time to break out the crimson and grey ponchos that have been waiting for our return ever since the end of last season. Soon, Martin Stadium will be overflowing with die hard Cougs who bleed crimson and grey. The anticipation is continuing to build at a continuously increasing daily rate because we all know just how thrilling the CFS experience truly is.

Football season means the return of Dads Weekend. Who doesn’t love watching a good ol’ Washington State game with their old man? It also means the return of the Apple Cup, in which the rivalry between us and The-School-That-Must-Not-Be-Named reaches its seasonal height and we once again are reminded just how lucky we are to be attending the greatest school in Washington. Additionally, we will be keeping our fingers crossed to finish off the season with the return of another bowl game victory.

It’s almost time to scream the Fight Song at the top of our lungs. It’s almost time to chant “Go Cougs” along with “And that’s another Cougar first down!” It’s almost time for tailgating and game day date dashes. It’s almost time to celebrate our wins all over Greek Row in which our victorious yells and screams could be heard from miles away. It’s almost time to freeze to death and not really care that our fingers and toes might fall off. It’s almost time to reunite with our families and friends once again who travel all the way to Pullman to cheer on Wazzu.

The best part about Cougar Football Saturdays are all the traditions it carries. Waving Ol’ Crimson through the air, hanging out with Butch on the sidelines, and purchasing some of that irresistible Cougar Gold Cheese are just a few examples. But perhaps the best tradition is sharing the Washington State bond with friends, family, and strangers all around us. There’s something special about being a Coug. It means you’re a part of a family that has lasted for generations. That family is celebrated more than ever every football Saturday whether we win or lose. Being a Coug is something that can’t quite be described, only felt.

On September 3 at 5 pm the student section will be full as we take on our very first game of the season against Eastern Washington University. We can already feel the excitement welling up inside of us. So go Leach, go Falk, and GO COUGS. I’ll see you all there.

(A complete season schedule can be found here.)