Marshall Football Rituals

It is hard at times like these to not fall into cliches about excitement over the upcoming season and how great it is to have college football back. It is even harder to refrain from the ever present Marshall football-related cliches.

However, those are not just cliches—they are an integral part of the university and fan base. The type of things when you think about them, live them, and experience them make you believe that your 4-8 football program will turn it around.

The rituals, the rites of passage, everything that makes NCAA college football such a special thing.

At Marshall, we have no shortage of rituals, superstitions and ways to honor our storied past. From the Memorial Fountain ceremony in November, to fans and players visiting the memorial at Spring Hill Cemetery before the season.

Personally, I cannot step foot anywhere neer Spring Hill Cemetary during the season as the emotions run too deeply. While not growing up in Huntington, W. Va, or even being alive at the time of the tragedy, it becomes a part of you when you become part of the university.

It is yet another aspect that brings me pride in my chosen school each year. As a new group of freshmen come in every year, many with little to no knowledge of the school's past slowly learn that past. Each of them begins to learn and understand just what the town and university went through.

Everyone collectively carries the memory of what was lost on that November day, and each person that bleeds kelly green honors that memory every season.

My ritual has been the same for a few years, with some slight variations from year to year. However the constants are a pre-game viewing of We Are Marshall, making sure to pass by the plaque on Joan C. Edwards Stadium honoring the lost players, and being there for the team until the final whistle.

On game day in Huntington, Marshall Football is all that matters, and the important thing is taking that field each game. We keep moving on from that day in November to honor those that are no longer with us.