Fun, Family and Football

Seeing my parents on campus for the last parent's weekend of my college career was bittersweet.

As a senior, this was my first parent's weekend where my family attended the football game and tailgate, and it was quite an experience.

The tailgate started around 1:30 p.m. and I made sure my family and I were at the SAE lodge on time, so that I was sure we wouldn't miss any "quality family bonding time."

My parents were thrilled to be at the lodge, even though it isn't the most glamorous place to bring your parents, they loved the lodge environment. Since I'm a senior, my parents have already met most of my closest girl friends' parents, so this was a great place for them to meet all of my guys friends' parents and hang out in a relaxed environment.

"The people were great," my mom said. "They all made us feel welcome even though most of them didn't even know who we were."

It was not until the police alerted us the tailgate had ended that we realized it was time to go to the game.

Once we arrived at the game, the stadium was packed with spider fans and WebstUR was running around the field waving frantically.

"I thought it was kind of funny, and kind of cute," my mom said.

Roughly 1,900 tickets were sold to Richmond families, said Beth King, director of events management for university advancement.

I found that number interesting, because there were plenty of empty seats on either side of me.

"They could have done more to keep the crowd involved and enthusiastic," my mom said. "I think they should have a bigger band."

There are lots of events planned for parents weekend, such as senior cheers, an event for seniors and their families held on Westhampton Green in a large tent. Senior Matt Dunn said this celebration had been a lot of fun.

"I had a great time with my family this year, and as a senior, it was a really special parents weekend," Dunn said.

Although my family didn't actually attend this event, we enjoyed quality time together and delicious off-campus food.

I'd have to say that even though this was my last parents weekend, it was definitely the best.