First thing I did Saturday morning was check my calendar. Realized it was game day for the Chickasaw Warriors and I hadn’t prepped squat. Panicked a little, honestly. Been a fan since my nephew joined the team freshman year, but still mess up the basics sometimes. Gotta do better.
The Prep Work Starts
Dug through my closet hunting for blue and gold stuff. Found last season’s tee buried under work shirts – pit stains kinda bad but whatever, washed it quick. Forgot the foam finger at my sister’s place, so drove over there to grab it. Cost me half a tank of gas, her living way out past the highway. Worth it though.
Made a Walmart run around noon. List was simple:
- Face paint sticks (two blue, one gold)
- Those little plastic hand clappers
- A thermos big enough for hot chocolate
- Extra batteries for my crazy blinking hat
Dude at checkout asked if I was going to a parade. Told him it was warrior business. He didn’t get it.
Getting the Squad Together
Texted the usual crowd about carpooling. Brenda needed pick-up cause her truck died again. Dave took forever deciding if he’d wear his lucky socks. We argued about the best pre-game spot. Hank wanted burgers, rest of us voted for pizza. Pizza won. Ate way too much pepperoni. Hank sulked.
Put the face paint on in the parking lot. Wind blew the cheap plastic cap off the gold stick. Stuff got all over my car seat. Used wet wipes. Made it look worse. Gave up and just smeared blue on my cheeks. Looked like tired smurfs. Whatever. Spirit matters.
Game Time Actions
Got inside just as the Warriors ran out the tunnel. Made the rookie mistake of waiting for nachos first – line took ages. Missed the kickoff. Won’t do that again. Saw our boys were already down 7-0. Crowd felt flat.
Time to work. Started the Warriors chant behind the bench. Felt dumb shouting alone at first. Dave finally joined in. Then Brenda. Then some old dude near us. Got louder each time. Saw #22 look up from the bench after our third one. That felt good.
- Clapped like crazy during every defensive stand
- Banged my clappers even when people glared
- Yelled “HOLD THAT LINE!” on every third down
- Shared the thermos when Brenda shivered
Wore my blinking hat fourth quarter. Battery died quick. Shoulda bought the good ones. Team made a late push. Almost came back. Lost 21-24. Hurt. But you show up next week anyway. That’s how it works. Got home dead tired, throat sore, blue paint still smudged on my ear. Warrior business ain’t easy.