North end zone fans begin lining
up as much as two-three hours before kickoff.
They are among the first fans to get Bronco Stadium buzzing with
activity. We have the unique
opportunity to get up close to the opposing opponents as they go through the
pre-game warm-ups. I have purchased
16 tickets for friends and family to sit together in the NEZ.
There is nothing better than having them close
to the end zone and getting a false start or having a kicker miss or a pass
dropped you really feel like you are making that big of a difference. It
is great to see the players turn around and point to you or raise their hands.
It is a blast to get inside their
heads before the game ever starts. I
remember way back when Joel Thomas was playing for the Idaho and we were talking
crap to him and he turned around and told us to sit down and shut up.
Needless to say that just got us to get louder to him.
I still remember when the BYU kicker (Matt Payne) missed the go-ahead field goal in 2005 when they were in
Boise
--the Bronco fans in the north end zone were going
crazy making noise trying to make him miss.
Another one of the more memorable
times was the first time
Oregon
State
came to town and we had just got in the gate and got our seats and the OSU
players were warming up in the end zone. We
were again talking crap to the tight end that had just dropped an easy pass.
I was all over him telling him that he was headed for the bench with
those hands and would not let up. Eventually
he got tired of me and gave me the one finger salute so we knew that we had
gotten to him and just went after him the rest of the time he warmed up.
All during the game anytime he was lining up down in the NEZ area we
would chant his name.
There is nothing better than knowing that you have gotten into one of the
player’s heads. There are several
other NEZ fans that do this also. One
was telling me about the time they were chanting the name of an opposing
offensive lineman. He proceeded to
get flagged for three penalties and every time he got beat off the line he was
yelling back at the fan.
There is always some sort of
character dressing up in the NEZ from the group that used to sit just down from
us that wore the wigs back in the
90’s--always enjoyed the Marge wig from the Simpsons that was blue.
There was also the time for the
Fresno
game when my niece, her friend and I all wore pumpkins.
We ended up on the front page of the Idaho Statesman the next day.
The key to being in the end zones is to always be willing to have fun and
be rowdy--if you do this you will have a great time.