Going back to Chicago was the weirdest thing for me. For the first time I wasn't going back to school and I wasn't coming back from a vacation or a break. I was literally taking a vacation from my job to visit and then left to go back to my job, just like anyone in the real world. I know it sounds silly, but it was a very weird experience for me.
I marched in the alumni band for the day of the game. Northwestern was playing against Indiana and it was a game I badly wanted to win after last year. In the 2008 season Indiana won when they shouldn't have. I'm not saying it was referee calls or anything that did it; rather, that our team fell apart towards the end and Indiana took advantage of it. But it wasn't that alone that made me want to beat Indiana so badly. No, it was the disgusting treatment of the Indiana fans after the game that I recall with loathing. Many of the sore winners preceded to be just completely unclassy about their victory, trying to start fights, stealing some of our fan stuff and moving it (such as Northwestern flags), and just being complete jerks all around. Obviously, not all of the Indiana fans were like that, but it was prominent enough to be seared into my mind a hatred for Indiana that I had never felt before (indeed, prior to this trip I was very apathetic towards Indiana). Couple that with the fact that Indiana is a terrible state to begin with and you've got yourself a recipe for loathing. That was why, on our Homecoming, the victory over Indiana 29-28 was sweet. You can think I am a terrible person for what I am about to admit but I do not care: seeing the look of disappointment in their fans' faces was as much a gift to me as the actual victory. I take extreme pleasure in seeing their dejected looks because it makes me feel like life re-affirms my belief in karma. This same pleasure happened when towards the end of the game against Iowa the ESPN camera panned towards Iowa fans and they looked unhappy. Ashton Kutcher even threw his hat down in frustration at one point. Oh, by the way, I hate Iowa, too. Badly. For the same reason I hate Indiana: the fans' treatment of us. I was in the marching band when our away game was to Iowa my sophomore year, and never had I been treated so poorly by fans. I had things thrown at me, on top of expected swear words and name calling. But I draw the line at having things thrown at me, especially when I'm a member of the marching band. I expected such treatment from Michigan (which I never got, I'm both pleased and surprised to say), but not Iowa. So yes, you can call me whatever you like for admitting that, but it doesn't take away the fact that I am very happy about both wins.
The rest of my stay involved catching up with old friends, making new ones (I met the new members of the Tenor Sax section) and being in Chicago again. It was bittersweet. I am going to see if I can make it to Homecoming next year...
Anyway, without further ado, here are some pictures in my Northwestern Tenor Sax alumni glory:
In the stands with some of the Tenor alumni
Doing what we Tenors affectionately call "God's Horn"
In the stands
The Tenor alum who took this pic of me titled it as "Carla's First Homecoming"
The Tenor alums out on the field after our victory
And finally, the Tenor alumni who had played and marched meeting with the undergraduate Tenors (they can be distinguished by the fact that they're actually in uniform, although the jacket "warmers" don't really make this obvious)-------------------------------------
A big congrats to Northwestern for continuing to solidify our legacy: that is, sometimes we throw away games we should have won, and something we win games we shouldn't have. Either way, I'm proud of my 'Cats, and hope that we also beat Illinois next week to solidify our bowl game chances (I'm hoping they get picked for the Insight Bowl in Phoenix so that I can go see the them play as they will only be about 2 hours away!)
-AALA
-AALA
