Dear Hughes Stadium, this is what you meant to me

When I was a senior in high school, there was a part of me that wanted to go out of state for college. I watched as all my friends chose to go to places like Notre Dame, San Diego, Villanova and other incredible schools across the country.

I had scholarship offers from Gonzaga and Portland, giving me the impression that I was headed northwest. As it turned out, I decided that Fort Collins would be my home for the next four years.

It remains the best decision I’ve made in my life.

I met my amazing girlfriend and (hopefully) soon-to-be fiancé in the dorms. One of our first dates was watching the Rams get waxed 27-0 by an Andy Dalton-led Texas Christian team, ranked number five at the time.

That was my first experience at Hughes Stadium. It was an early October game but I remember it being an absolutely perfect, sun-splashed day.

That season and the next (2010 and 2011), the Rams went 3-9 under Steve Fairchild. We all know what happened when Jim McElwain took over during his tenure in green and gold.

But unfortunately, it wasn’t until 2014 (the first football season after I graduated) where fans started to really pack Hughes again.  CSU went undefeated in Fort Collins and put together its best season since the heyday of the Sonny Lubick era.

So what does Hughes Stadium really mean to me?

Like sports venues should be, I would say that Hughes is one of my escapes. You’ve got an incredible view of the Rocky Mountains, the incomparable Aggie ‘A,’ and of course, football on Saturdays in the fall.

There’s absolutely nothing glamorous about Hughes, from the dirt parking lot to the old-school feel of the stadium itself. There are countless other college football stadiums that are more appealing than the one our Rams will play in for the final time on Saturday.

But I have no trouble looking back and saying how much fun I had at games from 2010-2013 as a student, the two years following as an alum and this season as the BSN Denver beat writer for CSU.

Am I excited for the new stadium next year? You bet I am. But this week, I’m going to take everything in. I’ll reminisce on the drive to the stadium, enjoy the walk in from the parking lot and cherish how lucky I am to be able to cover the final game at Hughes Stadium.

My hope would be that Ram fans will be there early, make it miserably loud for the Lobos and give Hughes the goodbye it deserves after 49 memorable years.