Prior to kickoff, Cowboy fans watched the Western Thunder Band practice underneath War Memorial Stadium. The air buzzed with excitement, and dare I say, nostalgia for pre-Covid times.
Looking around, I was met with many masked faces among the crowd, but the most heartwarming view was the teary eyed smiles we all wore on our faces. We were finally back, ready to watch the team dominate Montana.
Well, the dominating part didn’t really happen, but the Cowboys still won.
During the game, I was lucky enough to stand near the end zone with my family, surrounded by other Alumni and fans who screamed as much as we did. Between those panicked screams at bad calls and excited high fives during the good ones, I got the chance to talk to others.
The answer to my question, “Are you glad to be back?” was always the same.
Echoes of “I can’t believe it” or “It’s awesome to see so many people here” usually followed the strong answer of “Yes.”
But the idea of Covid still plagued most of my conversations. The fear was only visible through my minuscule movements to not speak into other’s faces or taking a step back when possible to distance as much as I could in a crowd.
I noticed this with others, too.
People turned their faces away from their conversation or turned their bodies so that they spoke into the air, rather than the other person’s bubble. In the end zone, at least, we managed to leave inches between each other, rather than being smashed completely.
It may not have been the social distancing guidelines we are supposed to follow elsewhere, but the effort seemed to be there.
So why was I afraid to actually ask the question, “Do you think this will cause an outbreak?”
My answer is simple, as much as Wyomingites and fans want to be back together in the stadium, we still can’t stomach the disagreements we’ve been plagued with during the pandemic.
Instead, I believe we find our common ground and stay there.
As the numbers come in during the following weeks, we’ll see if the opening game caused an uptick in cases, but I sincerely hope it isn’t a reflection of last year.
In the meantime, I’m thankful to be back with the Brown and Gold crowd cheering on the team. That’s one thing all of us can probably agree upon.
