Dana Lake ‘23
Production Editor
Disappointment, much like negligence, has several elements. For 1Ls preparing for their Torts midterms, a negligence claim requires both the establishment of a duty and a breach of that duty before you can get into causation and damages. Similarly, disappointment must have an established base expectation and then a breach of that expectation before your feelings can be hurt. My feelings were not hurt this last Friday at the UVA home football game against Wake Forest because I had zero expectations that the team could fail in meeting.
To be clear, this is a ringing endorsement for home football games. The real joy of rooting for a team you know is going to lose is that there are only upsides. The game will probably play out just as you predict, with an early touchdown to give the people hope followed by a slog of sacks and penalties — but there is always the small chance you will be totally, wonderfully surprised. We were not surprised Friday night, but maybe we will be next time. Either way, the tickets are free and the stadium doesn’t even require a reservation. You really just show up and walk in. Scott Stadium is centrally located, within easy walking distance of both the Law School and the Corner. With a barrier to entry so low, even the most enthusiastic of pre-gamers can manage to last till halftime.
If you are the guy in the cowboy hat and Cubs jersey at this college football game please reach out to us. We want to know more about the decisons that led to this moment. Photo Courtesy of Dana Lake '23.
People who watch football (or any sport really) know a televised game is the superior way to watch if you want to know what is actually going on. With the TV comes announcers, and replays, and helpful lines drawn all over the field. What TV can’t capture is the feeling of being one in a thousand, all of you sharing for this one evening the same indulgent fondness for the hundreds of people who make these games possible. Beyond the players, coaches, and trainers are the band, the cheerleaders, the grounds crew — dozens of teams who go through the sincere effort to prepare the best show they can for you. While it is easy to dismiss a bad play at home as carelessness, in the stadium it is impossible to feel that way. These people care so much. When you’re there in person, they make you care too.
Besides the UVA football traditions recently highlighted in our September 15 edition, there are many high points of a home game that can only be experienced in person. Those include watching unsupervised middle schoolers mill about in the student section with inebriated undergrads, but also the opportunity to stand for two hours on a steep grassy incline. If you grew up or went to school in the SEC, there is even a hauntingly familiar chopping motion the crowd occasionally breaks into. Going to a home game and wandering over to the Corner afterward is as much a Law School tradition as any of the others — you probably won’t need season tickets, but making it out to at least one game a season is worth it.
Your next chance to join in a home game is October 16th for homecoming against Duke.
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dl9uh@virginia.edu