By Mason Wittner, Staff Writer
Saturday was another milestone for Kennesaw State University as the football program held their inaugural Black and Gold spring game.
“Today is absolutely huge for Kennesaw State,” KSU president Daniel Papp said. “As a major university in the American South, you basically need football to be recognized. We’re one of the 50 largest universities in the United States, sitting here just outside Atlanta, and this is a huge step forward for the university.”
The morning began at 10:45 a.m. as a pair of Big Owl Busses pulled up at the intersection of Big Shanty Road and Busbee Parkway, carrying the 2015 KSU football team and coaching staff. The Owls unloaded the busses and walked down Busbee between a host of fans and cheerleaders as they made their way to the stadium’s entrance.
The pregame ritual, dubbed “The Owl Walk”, will be incorporated throughout the season in the fall and will take place a few hours prior to kickoff.
Following the team’s departure into the stadium, the fans took to their tents and grills for tailgating throughout the various parking lots. Busbee was shut down and occupied by a plethora of tents from local companies. Everything from Jimmy Johns giving out free sandwiches, to corn hole and pictures with Sturgis at the Night Owl Productions tent, to Buffalo Wild Wings giving out free coupons and accepting donations for the Boys and Girls Club.
“We’re looking forward to the party out here in the parking lot,” KSU alumni Anita and Stewart Geoghagan said. “We’re looking to help start a tradition. I think that’s really the coolest thing about this. We get to be on the front edge of the start of the football program here and being involved, making and meeting new friends and maybe connecting with friend we’ve lost connection with over the years.”
Even head coach Brian Bohannon’s father was found tailgating two hours before kickoff, eagerly anticipating the scrimmage.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Lloyd Bohannon said of the pregame festivities. “I think it was a great start to kick off this program, and especially with the weather so cool, it was a great turnout.
Lloyd wasn’t without fatherly advice, either. “I hope the scrimmage is competitive, and they don’t make a whole lot of mistakes.”
The gates at Fifth-Third Bank Stadium opened at noon. Following a 10-second countdown, the fans were admitted entrance and greeted by a host of cheerleaders handing out KSU football posters and Scrappy bobblehead dolls.
Once inside, the fans had access to the Official Stadium Store, which held official Owl apparel, and various concession stands. An hour away from kickoff, many were anxiously awaiting the spring debut of KSU’s offense.
“I’m looking forward to watching the triple option,” KSU freshman Denver Harris said. “I know coach [Bohannon] has experience with the triple option so it’ll be interesting to see. Being a Georgia fan growing up, I’ve always not liked the triple option, because that’s what Georgia Tech runs, but it’ll be fun to watch now for Kennesaw State.”
Possible new in-game traditions were established Saturday as well. Following each offensive conversion for the Owls, the P.A. announcer belted “First down, Owls”. Additionally, the fans were able to take part in “Helmet to Helmet to Helmet”, an interactive game shown on the video board in which the Fifth-Third logo was hidden under one of three KSU helmets. The helmets were then scrambled around and the fans were able to guess which helmet the logo was under before the answer was revealed.
Following the game, the players spoke fondly of the authentic game day experience provided by Kennesaw State.
“It was amazing,” KSU redshirt freshman defensive lineman McKenzie Billingslea said. “It was a good experience to have people watching you. It was like everybody is depending on you to represent Cobb County. It was a new experience for me, the game is a lot faster, but it was really good for me.”
Kennesaw State will host their first regular season football game against Edward Waters September 12, 2015. Though still roughly five months away, the Black and Gold scrimmage aptly provided a taste of what Saturdays in the fall will feel like in Kennesaw come football season.
