Rally Around The Flag

For the last two years the International Office in my university was able to convince the Athletic Department to cough up free football tickets for international students. They cooked up this half time "show" that consists of international students carrying their flags in the middle of the field during half time. It supposed to remind the student body how diverse and international their campus is. For the international students, it's the international office's way of introducing another part of american culture (watching football games every saturday in the fall). For me, it's another opportunity to get a free ticket to the game without having to line up for it, join a lottery, or deal with a scalper.

The international students I was with last year were not impressed by the game. They thought it was slow, and consisted mainly of bursts of activity on the field and stoppage of play every five seconds. I guess in their minds it's not even up there with soccer. Most of them were bored. As for me, I never really watched or followed football before coming to the US. I have acquired a taste for it though and enjoy watching it as well. Next week, I will grab my country's flag again and wave it during the half time show. Free football ticket for 5 minutes of work, not bad. Not bad at all.