It’s homecoming week for the newly minted FBS squad Jax State Gamecocks. In the season opener, the Gamecocks defeated UTEP 17-14 in their inaugural FBS contest. While the betting spreads weren’t necessarily wide, the win still came as a surprise to the majority of the country. JSU debuted to the FBS with a second-year head coach, a CUSA opponent right away, and a slew of transfers. There were certainly more questions and concern than anything else. Outside of the building, expectations weren’t exactly high.
Now 2-1, the Gamecocks aren’t exactly national mainstays, but they aren’t quite flying under the radar either. If the Gamecocks are able to handle business against the Eastern Michigan Eagles this homecoming Saturday at Burgess-Snow Field, they’ll be 3-1 heading into five straight CUSA contests where they’ll all be nationally televised in prime time. The program has never had more eyes and there’s never been a bigger opportunity to capture the nation’s attention.
(Jax State RB Ron Wiggins (26) – Stephen Gross/Anniston Star)
That said, one of the best ways to capture the hearts of potential backers and galvanize existing supporters is to revisit the past. Homecoming symbolizes that notion more than any other week of the year. Past, present, and future attendees all flock back to respective locations to take in the sights, eat at their favorite restaurants, have a drink (or many) at their favorite bars, but most importantly, cheer on the team that ties everything together in one encompassing experience.
Personally, I’ll never forget my first homecoming after my time as a player at Jax State. The week is unquestionably still exciting as an athlete. The energy around campus, the festivities during the buildup, the game itself, and the parties after. However, I don’t believe I fully understood what was so special about it until after I graduated. Whether it’s youth or just finally understanding the fundamental concept of time waiting for no one, it’s not until you aren’t around your best friends every day that it truly sets in what homecoming really represents. Seeing the people you came of age with after a year, sometimes longer, of not being around each other is when that feeling truly sets in.
Reminiscing on those grounded daily experiences to the impulsive moments like trying to sneak into local bars for the first time hoping to get in. To epic pool parties that inevitably would get shut down. To becoming upperclassmen and throwing parties at the very same places we used to sneak into. Or taking night trips to the peak of Chimney Peak Mountain to see the city lit up beautifully. To an evening of Dippin’ Dots or ice cream from Cecil’s. No matter how big or small, no matter how imbecilic or profound, the sum of those experiences makes those times worth returning to relive.
Faculty, students, fans, & athletes alike all share a different version of the same experience. No matter what version we experienced, we all share those visceral feelings that are unexplainable unless you’ve lived it. From my perspective as a former athlete, it’s the times like the ones in the locker room that you miss the most. It’s the hours you spend in the training room just to be able to walk properly and work hard again the next day. The walks to the cafeteria with your teammates and coaches. It’s talking to excited fans around campus that plan their entire fall around supporting you. It’s the special people you come across that stick with you for a lifetime, like TMB legend Ms. Peggy, that always greeted you with love and did her best to never let a student go hungry.
(Brother’s Bar – Stephen Gross/Anniston Star)
We all have our own versions of Ms. Peggy, or our favorite restaurant that brings you back to a first date like Effina’s Tuscan Grille, or our local bar where you took tequila shots with your crew to begin a night of fun. No matter where we are in the world, those memories hold strong. I say all that to say, more times than not we truly don’t appreciate how special our time in these environments are until we no longer have them. That’s what makes homecoming so special. If only for one weekend of the year, you get to jump back in time to your fondest memories with the people that made them unforgettable.
Even if you’re someone like me that ended up buying a home in the town you attended college in, settled down with a woman that also went to the university and now works there, there’s something extra special about being the place where everyone can come back to. It’s only in those moments that you truly understand why homecoming is remarkable. So, as we all begin to get ready so experience another one this fall, be sure to truly take in the moments, and appreciate the time. We never know when is the next or the last time we’ll get to have that opportunity.
