Running Men

Inspirational song: Incomplete (Fish)

My undergraduate degree is in the humanities. Sure, a lot of the impetus behind getting it in that field was that I love studying art, music, and literature, but more than anything, it was because I loved studying humans. I still do. I am particularly fascinated by the way they behave in crowds. My neighbor and I took public transportation down to the Broncos vs Chiefs game, and as we made our way, I couldn't help but notice that humanity in its most primitive state was on display. I always feel that sporting events bring out the most basic impulses in our biology, and I have yet to attend a game that changed my opinion on that score. NFL games are purely tribal, with complex rituals that prove to the crowd who belongs and who is an outsider. I felt like an outside observer, even though I was there to watch my home team. The rituals have changed since the last time I got to go to a Broncos game, way back in the late 1980s. The very first time the opponent's receiver dropped a pass, and the announcer said something like "Smith's pass, intended for number 87 Kelce was..." the entire crowd chanted in three hard syllables, "In-Com-Plete!" I was thoroughly creeped out. Between that and the flashing graphics on the high definition screens surrounding us, I felt like we had been dropped in the middle of a dystopian-future science fiction movie. The feeling remained throughout the entire game. I can't put my finger on why it seemed so much more sinister than college football games do to me, but I was quite overwhelmed by the feeling. Maybe it was just the altitude. We were only six rows from the top of Mile High in our section. It took until the end of the first half for my fear of heights to settle down. By the fourth quarter, all thoughts of heights and dystopian futures was pushed out of my head by the cold. The only time I was warm was in the split second when flames would flash on either side of the rearing bronc statue, just before the fireworks went off, when the home team scored. I was sufficiently dressed for the weather from the knees up. By the time Kansas City won in overtime, my feet were so cold that I had numb spots that felt like I had four or five lumps of chewing gum stuck to my shoes. I had to sit on the bus for twenty minutes at least, while we were waiting to go back to the Park and Ride, before those spots warmed enough for feeling to return. 

All in all, I must say I am quite happy that tickets magically fell out of the sky and into my lap last night. Okay, a friend with season tickets sold them to me, but it still felt like magic. My neighbor and I were glad we went.