So, exactly to my expectations, I did watch our game, even staying up late to finish after a weather delay and an uncompetitive contest. Though I didn't have the pre-game butterflies I used to. I didn't know a great many players. I didn't care that I didn't know a great many players.
Still, I loved seeing the atmosphere....I love the uniforms and the stadium and hearing the familiar songs when the band plays. I find I still root for them in some way. I can't root for the individuals since I don't know them that well, but there is something inside me that still loves to see that uniform, on that field, and wants that team to succeed. However detached I am from the finer points I no longer follow or jive with, whatever I think about the staff and the program's current modus operandi, there's something familiar about the scene that feels like home and evokes a lot of great memories from yesteryear.
I guess I'll always root for them in some way, even if I don't feel the excitement I used to, the heartache of a loss like I used to, or care for the direction of the sport. The outcomes of their games interest me in a way that other games don't, and that's still some level of fandom. I'm probably not capable of putting them aside for good or completely not caring about the seasons. I'm also probably not capable of the elation a good win used to give me, but that's okay. It's still entertaining, and that's enough.
