Saturdays in Rohnert Park are boring; bring back the pigskin

One of the biggest factors in my college decision was football. I wanted to be part of the college football culture: tailgates with your friends, painting faces, and screaming at the top of your lungs as you cheer on your school.

I grew up with football, and I wanted this to continue throughout college. As a die-hard University of Southern California Trojan fan, obviously USC was my first choice.

But with circumstances out of my control, my decision came down to the University of Nebraska and Sonoma State University.

Most of my desire to go to Nebraska was based on the football family within it, (plus a strong urge to distance myself from my parents) as well as their academic program.

It wasn’t until a tornado struck the town a week before I had to send in my acceptance letter that I thought about Sonoma State. Sure, it was a little closer to home, but that ended up working out for the best.

I have never regretted my decision, but it still annoys me every time I see a friend’s Facebook status that reads “At the game – Go [insert school name here]!”

I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. I genuinely envy them, not just for the tailgates and team spirit, but for the lost hours watching the best kind of football there is.

Sonoma was fortunate enough to host a team in the school’s early years, with winning teams and legendary players. The first Sonoma State team hit the field in 1969, but all that remains is a t-shirt in the bookstore which reads “SSU Football: Undefeated since 1992.”

Even now, the only glimpse of seeing any Sonoma football star has disappeared with the retirement of Larry Allen, an offensive lineman for the San Francisco 49-ers.

However, due to increasing costs and Title IX, the team was dismantled. The scores weren’t horrible and the fans were there, but the money wasn’t.

The budget continues to be the largest deterrent in recreating SSU football’s former glory. A previous estimate stated that a football team would cost around $500,000 on average a year to run – not to mention the $10 million needed to rehabilitate the stadium to make it suitable to play in.

On top of that, Humboldt State is the only Division II football team in California. The team’s traveling costs would be off the charts.

Title IX would then force new women’s teams to be created, as there need to be an equal number of women’s and men’s players. A solid football program would require at least 80 players, meaning around four new women’s teams would have to be created.

I understand the reasons why the team was disbanded.

I understand that with the current state of the economy, more money cannot be spent to build around new team, or a stadium to hold them.

However, I still hope that one day this can change.

SSU is a fairly distant community. While the number of students suggests otherwise, and in the end everyone knows each other’s business, we still need to work at bringing everyone together.

What could be a more perfect way than by starting up football again?

Every Saturday, an entire stadium could be filled with students decked out in Sonoma blue and white, cheering on our school.

Maybe this won’t happen in the next decade or two, but someday, I’d like to take my kids to a game to watch my alma mater play.