What a grand day for all Knight fans. This day will be one that I and I know all other Knight fans will always remember.

I’ve given my top 10 moments of the day and broken down the good, the bad, and the ugly. Also I took a ton of pictures and quick videos, including the tailgate scene around campus starting at 7am, the opening of Bright House Stadium, and of course the game.

Click here to see tailgate & game PICTURES

Click here to see tailgate & game VIDEOS

TOP 10 MOMENTS OF DAY (in chronological order)

1. Arriving near dawn (6:55am) and driving past a full lot at Lake Claire and then arriving at D1 to see 25 or so tailgates already going. Everything was so beautiful at that time of day and it wasn’t hot.
2. Walking around campus and checking out tailgating that occurred around campus. Especially enjoyed walking around the reflecting pond area.
3. Hearing the students cheering and chanting U-C-F as Dr. John Hitt walked up to the stadium.
4. Having a F15 flyover then watching the team run out to the field for the first time, …chills
5. Kevin Smith scoring the first TD in BHNS and the place going nuts!
6. The lightening delay after that and the students not going anywhere (sure maybe not smart but I didn’t move either so who am I to judge)
7. The rain storm! Normally I wouldn’t want it to rain at a game, but this was perfect. It cooled us down, re-energized the crowd, and watching the student section go crazy just made it worth the ruined program.
8. BHNS rocking as the 3rd quarter ends and we’re 2 yards away from taking the lead vs Texas.
9. Kyle scoring on 4th and 2 to put UCF ahead in the 4th quarter
10. Chanting U-C-F during the final seconds of the game when we knew we would come up short, but wanted to show our team how proud we were of them.

THE GOOD

• Tailgating on the campus of UCF is 1st class.  Beautiful campus, electrical outlets in some areas, and AIR CONDITIONED trailers that have sinks & soap!
• The Memory Mall area is awesome. Easy to catch up with friends at other tailgates, no dodging cars, and the area is just beautiful. The lawn is phenomenal, it’s like tailgating on a putting green. LOVE IT!!!
• Tailgating at 7am. So glad our administration allows us to start tailgating nice and early, it’s a privilege that we must never abuse.
• The pep rally in the arena seemed nice and it was good to cool off, with some work it could be better.
• I really like our stadium, it’s up close and personal. Most importantly it’s LOUD!
• Loved the seats our large group has in section 132, it seems we’re surrounded by other diehards!
• The atmosphere in side the stadium was nothing short of electric! Amazing…
• The team did a fantastic job against the #6 team in the nation. We never let up, we played with great intensity, and we went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the nation. No trickery, just manned up and played ball.
• Kevin Smith is now battling Dextor Lyons for 2nd favorite UCF athlete behind Daunte. I love this kid.
• Can’t say enough about our Defense, if you just look at stats you may not believe it– but we have ourselves a solid defense that will only improve with time.
• How about the play of true freshman like Lawrence Young, Darin Baldwin, and Kamar Aiken. Wow…

THE BAD

• The Knight Walk. This was the day’s biggest disappointment for sure. Our entire tailgate of about 30 people rushed to pack up everything so we could get to the Knight Walk at 1:30 in time to cheer on the Knights only to find out the team came almost a half hour early. So then we had to stand in the heat without shade for 45 min without having the payoff we expected. I hate to say it but I’m no longer going to attempt to make it to this until I can be convinced that O’Leary cares enough about this to make sure he’s there when he is supposed to be. Hopefully enough others aren’t so jaded and will come support the team next week.
• The concessions problem needs to be addressed, but I won’t spend to much time on this as everyone knows about this one. I’m sure it will be addressed.
• I’d sell my first born to the devil if it meant we could have all non-TV games kickoff at 6pm or 7pm all year.
• We need to get our passing game on track and take care of the ball better. We definitely could have won that game.
• Some fans leaving with 3 minutes to go when the team deserved our support to cheer them on to the finish. Luckily 90% of the students appeared to stay and were loud enough to make up for the others.
• The overrated chant. This has to be the stupidest chant that fans can ever use. Talk about taking away credit from your OWN team.
• Congestion when walking out of stadium, but I think people will figure out best routes and things will improve.

THE UGLY

• Are you kidding me? I could have fallen down 10 flights of stairs, broken my leg in 5 places, paid $27 for a hamburger, and sat on a rusty nail all the while watching my team get blown out 82-3 and I STILL WOULDN’T HAVE ANYTHING UGLY to report. I watched a UCF football game on the campus of the most beautiful university in all the land! I’ve literally been a UCF fan for my entire life, so I’ve seen where we’ve come from and it’s now so easy to see where we are headed. I wouldn’t trade being a UCF fan for any school, no matter how many national championships they have. We are part of something unique. We are watching a program grow to new heights before our eyes. We may not have all the history of other programs, however as fans we are watching history made before our eyes. We have experienced the lowest of the lows and that has only made the highest of the highs THAT much sweeter. September 15th, 2007 is just the beginning, hold on because it’s going to be a fun ride.

Thank you to Dr. John Hitt, George O’Leary, Dick Nunis, Steve Orsini, Keith Tribble, and all the others that made this day possible. I’m so proud to be a UCF KNIGHT!