At-Home at Homecoming?

Two years ago I sat along a curb in East Lansing, waving to Kermit the Frog as he rolled by in a white convertible. Moments later, massive draft horses with green manes and hooves pounded the pavement as they trotted down Grand River Avenue. Another Homecoming parade was passing before me as quickly as the year had passed since I graduated.

Each fall I drive into Michigan State’s campus and read the imaginary banner above Spartan Stadium that screams, “Welcome to the Happiest Place in Michigan!” Sure, I admit I’m biased toward my alma mater—but every time I step foot on campus toting a grill and wearing a signature hooded sweatshirt, I feel like I’ve been welcomed to the largest extended-family reunion known to man. It’s a celebration I have most appropriately termed “Tailgation Nation.”

Tailgation Nation is more than a parade, high-fives, the smell of hot dogs and the blast of a sportscaster on an AM radio. Exceeding the celebration of a football game, Tailgation Nation is the celebration of community and the sense of family developed during one of life’s greatest periods of transition. My college years taught me astronomy, biology and ethics and communication theories. But the greater education was about myself—about love and friendship, heartache and triumph. I left East Lansing with more than a degree—and each time I return I can’t help but celebrate the place that nurtured me and fostered my growth from a shy farm girl to a confidant woman.

Although I didn’t go to Kalamazoo’s Western Michigan University, I’m guessing it has a group of graduates and enthusiastic fans similar to what I experienced at MSU. In the midst of another exciting season of college football, I am convinced that Tailgation Nation is a universal phenomenon. And if it’s not—it should be. Our community can learn from the universities: perhaps a stable and lifelong sense of community results from providing a supportive environment that evolves and transforms the individual.

No matter where I wind up in life, I have the comfort of knowing my alma mater will always welcome me home. I’m confident that Kalamazoo can do the same.