Miami is a football school

This is a beautiful sight.

I started my ninth semester at Miami University this year and have never seen Yager Stadium packed like this. This is what Saturdays in Oxford should look like on game day.

This game has had social media buzzing since July, when it was announced that the Battle for the Victory Bell, college football’s oldest non-conference rivalry, will end in 2026.

During game week, you could feel the anticipation. I watched several classmates buy tickets, create t-shirts, design banner concepts and more.

I recall a time during my first year when COVID precautions were in place. My roommate and I drove to Yager and watched the football games outside the stadium when fans weren’t allowed in. But now that fans can attend games again, people instead opt to beat the clock at Brick Street, go to a bigger football game for a power conference or stay in.

Everyone has that right, but the record-breaking crowd this past weekend shouldn’t just be for one rival in the area. We have a football team that won 11 games and a conference championship last year, making it one of the most successful football programs in Division I football.

Photo by Ian Enders | The Miami Student
Me with my old friends and new ones that I met at the Victory Bell game

This weekend is one that I will never forget. The new normal should be seeing fans up early for the game, packing the stands and making new friends in the student section.

Yager is meant to be loud and full. This is what the college experience should be. Uptown bars will always be there during away games and the rest of the school year.

We might not have gotten the outcome we wanted, but Miami is a football school. The football team has long held up its end of the bargain; now, it is the fans’ turn to show up and show out for our exceptional football program.

@IEnders13