Photo by Sowden
Just how far does the scent of Wingman’s ever so delectable wings carry? Can you actually hear the opening of the container that carries Natural Aimee’s oh so popular homemade Deviled Eggs from that far away? What? Is that the sound of an ice cold beverage being poured into one of our quite famous red cups? Are those the generations of Johnnie Legends making their way to the Science Center Lot as the Sun grows higher into the sky on a Johnnie Football Saturday? All of these questions, and many more to be honest, have been posed to me by a very good friend of mine who just happens to reside in Manchester England.
And the answer I have given my friend has been a resounding YES! No matter where you are on a Johnnie Football Saturday you can hear, smell, and taste all that is Johnnie Football! And this week the Johnnie Nation will welcome Mr. Donny Wayte who has planned his entire week long stay (vacation) in Minnesota so that he could attend the Home Opener for the Johnnies! Now I ask you, does any other school and its fans have this kind of pull? We all know the answer…a resounding NO! Why? Because the Johnnie Nation is unrivaled, pure and simple.
Why would someone plan their entire vacation around a Johnnie Football Game you ask? Well the Young Welsh Lad (as he is known to us here in the States as he was actually raised in Northern Wales) has actually been to Collegeville previously, but not during the Season. And all he has heard and read is just how warm and welcoming all in the Nation are. He is ready to meet such great Johnnie Parents such as the Sharpe’s, Saladin’s, Stanton’s and the Boyle’s. He cannot believe that all are welcome to the pre game tailgate no matter which team you are supporting. He is dying to meet all of these “guys” who write about the Johnnies on JF.Com (as this is how he follows the Team while in the United Kingdom). He has heard that you can actually meet players on the Field after the game and snap a few photos without any kind of pre approval from some administrator! He has heard that there is nothing, not even a English Premiership Futbol Match that can compare to the atmosphere, the hospitality and the pure enjoyment one can get when they make their way up I-94 on a Fall Saturday to Collegeville so that you can witness Johnnie Football, simply the best Football on the planet.
So as we get ready to welcome the Bluegolds of UWEC I know that once we hit the Science Center lot on Saturday all in the Nation that has no compare will warmly welcome our “foreign” visitor, have a chat with him (as they say in the UK), offer him a homemade treat that can be washed down with an iced beverage in a Red cup, snap a few photos and show our guest that all he has heard and read about is not myth, rather it is what SJU, Collegeville and a Nation that is unrivaled is about!
It’s the Home Opener, it’s the Bluegolds, it’s the first game for the Young Welsh Lad and it is time again to JOHNNIE UP!
Johnnie Up Everybody!
