As a first-time Homecoming visitor to the Simpson campus I thought I would share my experience with the rest of the Simpsonian audience. To not ruin the anticipation, let’s work backwards…… The Ugly.

The Ugly in my opinion was the weather. Though I grew up in Iowa and lived there for almost 25 years, a 35 degree day with snow that early in October is not something that anyone wants to see. Kudos to the early day tailgaters, I saw lots of layers of clothing, lots of grills smoking and lots of hand warmers!

The Bad was the football game. The Storm put up a good fight, but were clearly out matched on this day by the Devilish Dutch. On a day where any number of factors could have influenced the game, none was enough for the Simpson footballers to sneak out a victory. On the positive, thank you to Joe P. for providing the highlight of the game with the blocked punt which resulted in one of Simpson’s touchdowns on the very next play!! Fantastic!!

The good. There were many good things about homecoming weekend from my perspective, but none more important than the student camaraderie and respect that I observed. Homecoming lends itself to students saying and doing stupid things, to anger towards another team, and to disrespect. Simpson, victoriously, didn’t fall victim to any of these pitfalls. Every student I saw did their best to let the Dutch know that Simpson would fight to the death, but they always did it in a respectful fashion. The tailgate, and crowd participation was respectful and deliberately positive from the Simpson sideline.

Lastly, on the good side, “Yell Like Hell”, what a fantastic event! Participation and preparation from many campus groups made this night my highlight for the weekend. The intricacy of some of the routines was astounding, as was the level of excitement and school spirit. A simple look around the gym provided an easy insight into how much Simpson loves homecoming and “Yell Like Hell”.

Congrats to the Simpson student body and others attending the homecoming festivities, you have proven yet again why Simpson College clearly stands above the rest!

Simpson Homecoming First-timer,

Andrew W. Hamilton