College Football is Alright. Alright. Alright.

I officially experienced my first college football day in Texas.

Quickly first: Why is this different from Minnesota? Minnesota is a hockey state and also has a professional football team [yes Texas has two professional football teams, but they aren't in Austin], so college football just doesn't hit the same level of importance within the city -- unless you actually attended the UofM, but even then it's not the same.

My experience was a non-traditional one as my roommate, Luke, is a proud LSU alum. This resulted in us wearing purple (LSU color)... in our own city that was decorated orange (UT color). This was a definite twist to being a new Austinite. However, experiencing Game Day was a blast.

First of all, tailgating is on a whole different level.

I have helped to orchestrate a lot of events at my job in Minnesota and it became a joke between my co-worker-turned-boss-but-also-amazing-friend Carlee that all events needed tablecloths. It sounds silly, but things just look that much better when there are tablecloths involved. Why do I bring

this odd tidbit of information up? Well, if you are like Carlee and myself, then you'd love UT tailgating because every table had a tablecloth. I'm also pretty sure everywhere was being catered, but I can't say this for sure. It was the classiest tailgate I've ever attended and yes I understand the oxymoron within that sentence, but it's the truth.

There was also a "fair" vibe to an aspect of the pre-game festivities as well. There was a street blocked with a row of food trucks [always a strong supporter of a good food truck] and fair games [you know, win the goldfish type games -- although I didn't see any goldfish]. Also, some women were walking around on stilts, super random but seemed normal and accepted by the locals.

The LSU chants were interesting.

The most common -- Go Tigers! Anytime you were walking along the streets of Austin and you saw another human in purple these words were shouted back and forth.

My favorite chant was "Hot boudin, cold couscous, come on tigers push push push." I'm still not fully sure how it relates back to football, but that really adds to the overall vibe of the chat. I was informed by a LSU-er that it is because Louisianans love their food.

The pre-game festivities included live music... naturally.

Before the game, we went to a bar that was catering to LSU fans -- there was a lot of purple -- and had a live band... outside. No worries, this Minnesotan just dripped sweat for three hours, and although I never saw my face in a mirror I'm assuming I rocked a tomato-equse face as well.

Even with the sweat, I'm happy to have joined the festivities! Being part of a crowd that had some serious Louisiana pride was an experience I wouldn't want to give up. I can honestly say I've never been in such a crowd before. When "Callin' Baton Rouge" was played by the band the LSU crowd went wild. The only similar reference I can draw to how the LSU crowd acted, is the way I, and most Minnesotans, act when "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo comes on and she says "New man on the Minnesota Vikings."

I have the thank the two LSU fans, Luke and Tara, for letting me pretend to be an LSU-er for the day. As my own college was purple, it's a color I love repping!

Moving forward I'm torn if I'll continue supporting LSU or move along to supporting UT. LSU is my roommate's alma mater, but UT has Matthew McConaughey. So actually nevermind, I'm definitely a UT fan, Horns Up!

Advice: If ever pretending to be a LSU-er know how to say boudin. Because apparently my Minnesota accent was a dead giveaway to being a fake.