Day nine – Americans and their sports

We've learnt a lot in our first week in the States – the excesses of American food, intricacies of American debaters, the US prison and university system – and today we learn about American sports. This weekend is 'homecoming' at Cornell, where alumni return to the University, and so the the football match (by which they really mean American football..) is a really big one. We were intrigued by the pre-homecoming match build up whilst staying at Cornell, (with dramatic radio adverts and posters everywhere), so we were very excited when our Ithaca College host Scott said he had tickets for us for the game. It was Yale vs. Cornell, and we went along with Scott's family and some other Ithaca College students.

Coming from a University where we don't even have any real sports facilities, and where inter-University sport really isn't a big spectator thing, this was quite a different and exciting event. The Schoellkopf Stadium in Cornell where the game was held holds over 25,000 spectators, and there were about 20,000 people watching the match today. With lots of free red t-shirts and memorabilia available (the Cornell sports teams are called the 'Big Red'), paid for as 'gifts' to the crowd from alumni, it was quite a spectacle. The whole thing really was much more than just a sports match. As it was the first home game of the season all the Freshman (first year students) were on the pitch at the start as the players came on to an enormous applause. There was also a cheer leading group throughout the match chanting (who's only weakness was that they were prone to dropping each other during particularly tricky moves, but this only added to the entertainment factor..) at the crowd, and the mascot - the Big Red bear - hanging around the place. There was also an enormous marching band who played the national anthem at the start, and then various inspirational pieces throughout the match and during half-time. We embraced the Football experience with hot dogs, and had an amazing time! Sadly, Yale won 21-7 (there was a fair bit of anger from the crowd over a few ref decisions..). I didn't really understand the rules – it stops and starts every few seconds, and there are inexplicably about a thousand players on each team (or perhaps more like 50, but still, a lot) such that there is a crowd on each side. I was able to recognise some exciting play at some times, and Lewis grasped it much better and is now an avid fan.

The American-ness of our day continued, when we went back to Scott's house with some of the Ithaca students and his family for hamburgers cooked on his grill. We then swiftly headed to our next, slightly more bizarre sporting event of the day – 'Roller Derby'. This consists of women on skates, essentially fighting each other whilst skating round a small oval track. It has quite feminist vibes, with the Ithaca team named the 'Suffer Jets', and all the players taking on feisty and aggressive nicknames. Intriguingly, they mostly wear underwear-esque outfits... There is one player on each side called a 'jammer', who has to pass through the pack of the rest of the players and lap them to gain points. The other players thus have to try and block the opposing team's jammer from passing (and can use fairly violent means, including pushing, pulling clothes and hitting other players..). It's quite intense and very entertaining to watch, with the rules easy to pick up. The 'Suffer Jets' were ultimately victorious over the 'Upstate Cupcakes', 121-47, and again the evening was made more entertaining by the American ability to dramatise the sport. There was a band playing inspirtational tunes between 'jams', and a super dramatic commentator (who also doubled up as an entertainer at half-time, singing a tune he had written, entitled 'Roller girl'). We were truly inspired and later researched the history and rules of the sport...(check out youtube for some exciting videos!).

All in all, feeling quite emersed in America's sporting culture, and definitely have seen the extent of the competitive spirit in the American psyche. Another excellent day on tour!