Colorado Trip - Part Three - Saturday

Saturday came, and it was time for the big game. Zombieland was fun, the mountains were great, but we were here for TCU football. Little did we know that, in addition to the game itself, a huge competition would exist between ourselves and Mother Nature's fury.

We woke up, had breakfast, and started planning for the game. We'd seen all we wanted to see, nature-wise, and we just thought we'd check out the Academy and then go to the game. Simple enough, right?

Well we knew it would be cold, and I'd brought several layers in order to fight the cold. But as the day approached, even the locals started talking about how cold it was going to be. So I put on my layers (undershirt, long-sleeved T-shirt, sweatshirt, and fleece) and gave it a shot. And I could barely walk around in the parking lot.

Problems included the following:

- My hands. I don't own a pair of gloves, and simply sticking my hands inside of my shirt sleeves wasn't going to work.
- My head. I was wearing a skullcap and a baseball cap, but that wasn't good enough. My face was still exposed, and it was feeling the cold.
- My feet. Cotton socks in running shoes. Enough said.
- My legs - Jeans and boxers. Being from Texas, that's all I've ever needed.

Ashley had mentioned going to a sporting goods store, and I agreed with him. I knew I'd need some underarmor "long johns", gloves, and wool socks, but I was ready to buy just about anything.

So we headed there, and we quickly found that a few people were doing the same thing. And, the funny thing was, they weren't all TCU fans. This weather was unseasonably cold, and everyone seemed to be gearing up for it.

And I decided to go fully crazy. I'd be in this unspeakable cold (every few minutes, the forecasted temperature seemed to drop), and I wanted to make sure I was ready. I bought long underwear (top and bottom), wool socks, gloves, and one of those ski masks that covers everything but your eyes.

$130 later, I was ready to go. I put all my gear on, and it passed the test. I couldn't really feel anything, and almost every inch of my body was covered up. So we got in the car, and we headed to the Academy. Our hotel was just a couple miles away from the entrance, so it was a pretty easy drive.

At the front gate, I came to an interesting realization. The guard had a very powerful-looking rifle in his hands, and I realized that it was probably the closest I'd ever been to that kind of firepower. And, because of this, I made sure to drive the speed limit the entire time. Because these people weren't really messing around.

We reached the visitor's center, and we checked it out. We learned that, due to it being Saturday and the weather being cold and rainy, a lot of things at the Academy would be closed. Even the cadet's chapel, a big highlight of tours of the place, was closed because of a wedding.

So we checked out everything at the visitor's center, including a 10-minute film about life there. It was all pretty interesting because I don't really know about life inside of a military academy. I thought it was cool that everyone is basically required to participate in athletics - either in an NCAA sport or intramurals. I also learned that the Air Force has a junior varsity football team - something I didn't think existed after high school.

It was also pretty cool to read about the history of the academy, how it ended up in Colorado Springs, and all the achievements of the people there. Some of the traditions were cool, including the fact that cadets can't have a TV until their fourth year, and they can't have any personal effects until after Christmas of their first year.

Basically, as soon as you step foot on the Academy grounds as a cadet, you're focused on one thing, and they don't let your focus waver.

I also had a bit of fun with the Academy's honor code - "we will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate among us anyone who does." And while it was very true (all of the cadets were very polite to us the entire time), it made me think of something. Wouldn't causing a turnover in football be considered "stealing?" And since they run the triple option, isn't their whole offense based on lying?

Yeah, I know.

So we checked out as much of the Academy as we could (which wasn't much), and we tolerated the cold about as long as we could. We drove all the way around, and I was surprised at how vast it all was. I guess it makes sense (since planes have to fly around there), but without any planes in the air, it just felt really big. And there was fog the entire day, so we couldn't really take in the scenery either.

After we wasted as much time as we could, we headed to the stadium. As soon as we parked, a female cadet saw us in our purple and yelled "T - C - Boo!" And I couldn't help but laugh because I don't think I've ever heard that before. It wasn't creative by any means, but it was, at least, unique.

A lot of the "fans" of Air Force were a bit more hostile, but everyone seemed more focused on the cold than anything else. We got inside, found our seats, and watched warmups. It was cool to see the cadets all come in on the field before going to their seats, but I was a little sad that we didn't get a flyover (stupid weather).

A funny thing happened before the game started, though. I went into the bathroom, and I noticed that there were a lot of cadets in there. It was then that I realized that the bathroom had a heater in the ceiling, and the cadets were sitting under the heater to stay warm. During the game, I kept hearing that the bathroom was full of cadets, and at halftime, I saw it for myself.

And it was true - there were probably a hundred cadets stuffed into this bathroom, and I'm sure the women's restroom was the same. You see, cadets are required to attend the game, but I guess it doesn't matter if they actually watch it. So, given the choice between watching the game in the cold and staying in the bathroom, a lot of the cadets were choosing the bathroom.

As for the game itself, TCU jumped out to a big lead, but Air Force's defense was able to keep things close. Just like the SMU game, we fumbled inside the Red Zone a couple of times, and it kept us from blowing the game up too early. We jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but the Air Force kept chipping away slowly but surely.

At halftime, I think most of the people had given up. We were on the same side of the field as the cadets, but the other side of the stadium started to disappear relatively early. By the start of the second half, it was mostly TCU fans and cadets in attendance. Everyone else seemed to prefer warmth to staying.

And it sucked...because less people meant that the wind was stronger. It could've been that the wind was stronger, but either way, it was colder. My running shoes were terrible at keeping in warmth, and my feet were pretty cold the whole time. The rest of my layers were keeping me warm, but it was still a pretty miserable experience that we had to fight through.

In the end, TCU was able to pull off a close win (having to recover an onside kick to clinch it), and we were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief. Because, honestly, the trip would've been a disaster if we hadn't won the game. After all the cold, it would've put a damper on the rest of the trip.

But we won, and it was fun to be able to celebrate with the team. With no band, we were forced to sing the alma mater with no musical accompaniment, but it was really cool that the fans all sang it together. By that point, we were the only ones left, and it was fun to see the unity there.

As we walked back to our car, I wanted to make sure that I talked to one of the cadets. Because while we were just rivals, these are kids who have committed themselves to protecting the country. It doesn't matter why they did it - they're doing something that I'm probably not capable of doing it. And they're making a commitment in a time when we're fighting a war that probably won't end. And I wanted to at least thank one of them.

And I got my chance when we were waiting for our car to defrost. There were a couple cadets doing the same next to us, and I talked to them for a bit, asking the questions that I'd had about life in the academy. And I thanked them for their service, and they thanked me for my support. It was a pretty cool moment for me, and I'm glad I was able to do it.

After that, we made the long journey through the academy back to the hotel. And as cold as it was and as unpleasant as it was at times, I was really glad that we'd gone. It was a great experience to be there, in the cold, supporting my team, and it was really cool to be in the academy, surrounded by snowfall. Like being in the mountains, it's just not the kind of stuff that I got to see on a daily basis, and I was trying hard to keep it all in.

And, with that, the trip was pretty much over. We still had our final travel day, but for the most part, everything we'd planned was complete. All that was left was the trip home. But day four is probably worth it's own post. And that's how I'll complete my four-part series next time.

Next on Colorado Trip - Part Four - The Trip Home, featuring Tucker and Miles Austin