Football! Yes, I said football.

My junior year of college I did a report in my Business Writing class on how the current students and alumni at Appalachian State would benefit from a fifty million dollar football proposal. The chancellor said that intramural sports would benefit, which in turn benefits most of the student population. Turns out, all that money was just going to one thing: football. Walking to my English classes in Sanford Hall, where budgets were being cut and money was tight; I couldn't help but feel resentful. Does anyone even give a shit about football around here? I had gone to two football games in Kidd Brewer Stadium while at App State.

When I woke up late yesterday morning and heard one of my friends from App State who is in town say that we were leading against Michigan in the third quarter, we decided to go out and find a bar. The night before we had been out in old Vegas playing the penny slot machines and black jack. Nearby were the huge sporting screens where people can bet on upcoming games. I think we were all wishing we had put at least five bucks on Appalachian to win that football game. But then again, who knew what was going to happen.

It was humid and hot in Vegas when we all three got into the car in search of a bar that was playing the game. He remembered seeing a sign about playing all Michigan football games, and on the way to finding another sports bar we saw the sign. The Inn Zone: a smoke-friendly dive bar in a commercial space. We walked in to a dark, smoky bar full of Michigan fans, nervously watching a football game that they were about to take over at the beginning of the fourth quarter. We sat in the front row with no real identifying colors, but when App State intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter, we all sat up and clapped in excitement. We just couldn't help ourselves.

Here we were, in Las Vegas, walking into a dive bar during the middle of the third quarter, surrounded by Michigan fans who don't even know where Appalachian is, much less expecting alumni to show up to watch the game so far away from North Carolina, and we were sitting in the front row cheering during their disappointment. Then tension at the end of the game was so cold it was almost laughable. We stayed as Michigan fans quickly and quietly filed out of the bar. We stayed to watch the coach talk about the player's hard work and dedication. We stayed long enough to see the bartender turn off the recap of the game from the big screen.

When I tell people where I went to college they do a couple of things. First mispronounce it, then they ask where it is (Boone? , they say) then ask if it's a private school (to which I reply Appalachian State University), then they ask how big it is and are always surprised that 15,000 students attend the school. Even though the state wants it to grow, those mountains keep it enclosed and protected.

I don't generally watch football. In fact, aside from tennis, it is my favorite sport to fall asleep to on the couch. But yesterday was great. It was a little piece of them mountains in a smoky dive bar in Las Vegas, Nevada.