A Golf Cart Parade, the block party, the royal ball, a pep rally, and tailgating all describe this year’s Georgia State homecoming. An eventful week, including the homecoming football game, for students and alumni, but what about the athletes of Georgia State? How do they see homecoming? Do they even get to participate in any of the events?
Homecoming, the athletes adrenaline boost
Some football players view homecoming as motivation.
“It adds a little extra excitement to the game,” Senior Linebacker Joseph Peterson said. “Students seem to really get into it, and hopefully a lot of alumni are able to come back and see the game.”
Peterson is Georgia State’s career tackling leader with 265 tackles and an average of 8.3 per game. With extra excitement leading into the homecoming game, Peterson didn’t have a problem getting more than his average 8.3 tackles.
Tons of energy is being transferred throughout Georgia State and especially throughout the different sports teams. Take for instance the volleyball team and the mindset Brianna Jones is bringing into practice and to the team during their Oct. 2-3 road trip in Alabama.
“All of us are really excited for the football team since they have been doing so well, and when we get excited for them we get excited for our sports,” Jones said. “We know they’re going to go into the game with great tenacity and a totally different mindset, we’re going to have that same mindset.”
The 2015 homecoming weekend wasn’t the best for the football or volleyball team. The football team fell 41-33 against Liberty and the volleyball team lost to South Alabama and Troy in four and five sets, respectively.
Conflicting schedules
Some student-athletes are unable to partake in homecoming festivities.
“We’re not able to participate in all the activities,” tight end Keith Rucker said. “The pep rally should be a lot of fun. We appreciate what the students and alumni do for homecoming, and we’re looking forward to an exciting game.”
Rucker is one of the athletes that miss events because of practice, but he doesn’t let it get to him because he still gets to engage in the pep rally. Plus more energy and excitement for a football game always helps a player go into the game with confidence.
Some athletes are still able to participate the events, like Senior Volleyball player Eliza Zachary.
“I am going to come to some of the events and try to attend all the sports events like soccer games and obviously the football game. I really wanna see the golf cart parade too,” Zachary said.
Zachary is able to go to the homecoming events because of her season-ending injury. An unfortunate injury considering she’s a senior, but she doesn’t let it get her down.
“I try and stay positive and not focus on the negative,” Zachary said.
One positive for Zachary’s last undergraduate homecoming is she could attend the events her teammates could not at Georgia State.
Some college coaches know how big homecoming is for their players and they try and make sure they can participate in at least some events, especially Volleyball Head Coach Sally Polhamus.
“[Coach Polhamus] doesn’t finish practice too late, and makes sure we do other things outside of our sport,” Jones said. “If she knows something is going on we can talk to her about it and she’ll help us out.”
Previous Homecoming Experiences
With homecoming, there is always a homecoming court, and students will be voting for their homecoming king and queen. Most athletes can’t participate in the homecoming court at Georgia State, but some did get the experience of it in high school.
“I was part of the homecoming court in high school, but I did not win,” wide receiver and Rancho Cucamonga High School graduate Donovan Harden said.
“I was on the homecoming court my senior year of high school and it was a lot of fun,” Jefferson High School graduate Zachary said.
“[I was on the] sophomore, junior, and senior homecoming court,” Dunwoody High School graduate Jones said.
Some athletes had their time to shine for homecoming court already thanks to their popularity in high school. However, some athletes are more focused on the sport they came here to play and not too worried about not being on the homecoming court.
“I’d love to be here for the homecoming dance, but at the same time Volleyball is my number one priority when it comes to sports and social activities,” Jones said. “I’m so excited for this weekend and to be with my team and to perform and get that W to bring back to Georgia State.”
At the end of the day, not all athletes are able to attend all the homecoming events or even some of them. Some are Okay with that sacrifice, and just want to bring that energy into the sport they play to make sure that Georgia State comes out with a win because of it.
