The first game at McLane Stadium for our Baylor Bears is extremely important. You KNOW our team is ready to destroy our opponents. But how ready are YOU to give them the opening they deserve?
To the Class of 2019, and to the newly-awoken fans called from the mist at the sound of back-to-back Big 12 Championships, I've put together an checklist that you and everyone you know should complete before game day. Get all five of these, and you'll be ready...
To the Class of 2019, and to the newly-awoken fans called from the mist at the sound of back-to-back Big 12 Championships, I've put together an checklist that you and everyone you know should complete before game day. Get all five of these, and you'll be ready...
The 5 Things You Should Do Before Baylor's #McLaneKickoff Sunday
1. Explore Our Daily Bears (ODB)
New to Baylor sports? Diehard fan? This is your place.
Our Daily Bears, the Baylor SB Nation website, is dedicated to previewing, reviewing, and analyzing Baylor's top sports. This mostly includes football, men's basketball, and women's basketball, although articles and videos have been dedicated to women's softball, lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, and track and field.
Managed by a collaboration of Baylor alumni and current students, Our Daily Bears presents an unusually unbiased dissection of teams, players, stats, and recruiting.
Our Daily Bears, the Baylor SB Nation website, is dedicated to previewing, reviewing, and analyzing Baylor's top sports. This mostly includes football, men's basketball, and women's basketball, although articles and videos have been dedicated to women's softball, lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, and track and field.
Managed by a collaboration of Baylor alumni and current students, Our Daily Bears presents an unusually unbiased dissection of teams, players, stats, and recruiting.
In addition to their articles and videos, Our Daily Bears produces OurDailyPodcast, a free RSS-enabled podcast which covers relevant topics in the Big 12 and NCAA sports. Always friendly and open to new members interacting in their community, ODB is a great new addition to Baylor's growing online presence.
Explore. Learn. And get excited, because on the ODB website you can also find your next task...
Explore. Learn. And get excited, because on the ODB website you can also find your next task...
2. Immerse Yourself In Hype Videos
One of the greatest outputs of the ODB site is the work of Ted Harrison, a 2011 FDM graduate who regularly produces the most heart-pumping hype videos to grace your computer screen.
The fastest way for you to get yourself PUMPED for Sunday is to watch these badboys. Or, for the truly dedicated, you can sit back and indulge in all 54 Minutes of Hype, starring everything awesome in Baylor's recent history.
Ready? Go check it out.
Ready? Go check it out.
3. Stop To Remember Where We Came From
My greatest fear is that with the incredible hype and energy surrounding Baylor's run to back-to-back Big 12 Championships, we may forget just how quickly and inexplicably we rose to power.
The reality is that this stage is NEW. Expectations are high, so it's important to take a deep breath and be grateful that we got this far. If we fail to show gratitude or support our Bears through the highs and lows of their season, then we run the risk of betraying our coach simply because of his incredible success.
So let's get pumped to love our Bears. And I would be ecstatic if we landed a bid in the College Football Playoff, but I would also be very happy with an 8-4 season. As reality stands - this is way better than almost every season before this decade.
The reality is that this stage is NEW. Expectations are high, so it's important to take a deep breath and be grateful that we got this far. If we fail to show gratitude or support our Bears through the highs and lows of their season, then we run the risk of betraying our coach simply because of his incredible success.
So let's get pumped to love our Bears. And I would be ecstatic if we landed a bid in the College Football Playoff, but I would also be very happy with an 8-4 season. As reality stands - this is way better than almost every season before this decade.
4. Have your Gameplan Ready (Whether You're At McLane or Not)
Nobody has a full picture of just how crazy the opening game at McLane Stadium will be.
But if we can plan ahead a bit, we can cut down on a bit of that chaos. Here's a few ways you can prepare for gameday:
Prepare yourself for a great game day experience by minimizing other problems. Trust me - the team will take care of the rest.
But if we can plan ahead a bit, we can cut down on a bit of that chaos. Here's a few ways you can prepare for gameday:
- Know where you're going to park. Don't set yourself up for an hour traffic jam.
- Download the Baylor In-Game App to watch replays and live-tweets of action in the stadium.
- Get pumped to tailgate, with all of the stuff it entails.
- Drink water. This year's opener is a bit later than last year's, but there's a reason we don't want any problems with #staythirsty this season.
Prepare yourself for a great game day experience by minimizing other problems. Trust me - the team will take care of the rest.
5. Be Creative and Fearless
Thanks to a televising agreement between Dish Network and Fox Sports, each game will be viewable by people across the nation.
People are watching Baylor. So it's our time to deliver.
People are watching Baylor. So it's our time to deliver.
I've already mentioned a bit about how I became a huge Baylor fan in my time here, but I'm challenging you to try something different. Make a costume. Carry a falcon. Sing a song. Paint yourself. Whatever works for you. But let's make a legacy for Baylor so that people know that the best fans wear Green and Gold.
I hope this checklist helps you get prepped for the best football experience that college has to offer. I can guarantee that our team is prepared to give it to you.
The Bears are coming. And nothing's going to stop us now.
I hope this checklist helps you get prepped for the best football experience that college has to offer. I can guarantee that our team is prepared to give it to you.
The Bears are coming. And nothing's going to stop us now.
Nathan Elequin is a 2016 graduate from the Baylor Business Fellows, Interdisciplinary Core (BIC), and Honors Program. During his four years at Baylor, he sought to encourage and inspire students to take the leap of faith, discovering new friends and adventures during their life-changing experience at Baylor University. Now he is studying Instructional Design and Development at Syracuse University (MS '18) with the hopes of developing software for classroom learning.
I hope this brings you encouragement and prepares you for some of the best years of your life. Whether you are a student at Baylor or anywhere else, I would encourage you to share this poem with them to give them some fire as they begin their journeys.
I am excited for all of you. Sic 'em.
I hope this brings you encouragement and prepares you for some of the best years of your life. Whether you are a student at Baylor or anywhere else, I would encourage you to share this poem with them to give them some fire as they begin their journeys.
I am excited for all of you. Sic 'em.