Your first at FirstBank: How to survive your first football game – The Vanderbilt Hustler

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Vanderbilt Football Mailbag: Kicking off the 2026 season
The football season is the most exciting time of year! Every fall, hundreds of students gather to show their school spirit while enjoying the competitive energy that football provides. The first game of the season is this Saturday, Sept. 5, and walking into FirstBank Stadium for the first time can be a little daunting. Here are my tips on navigating Vanderbilt Football like a pro.  
The entrance to the student section has puzzled new game-goers for years. This is worsened by the fact that entrances have changed for this upcoming year. The student entrance will be through Gate 1 and Gate 10 of Memorial Gymnasium. Students will not be allowed to enter through any other gate with their ticket, so it is especially important that you go to the right place. These gates are located between the gym and the baseball field, and you will have to go through metal detectors and a ticket checkpoint.  
The student section has also expanded, making tickets more accessible as the popularity of the team increases. To access the student section, students will need a wristband, which staff will provide at the gates after the ticket check. Students should then head to sections Q and P where all the school spirit magic will take place. No re-entry back into the stadium will be allowed. I recommend arriving 30 minutes early to get a good seat and have time to get acquainted with the stadium.  
The attire for football games is truly whatever makes the person feel both their best and most comfortable. Many of the football games have also turned into a way for fans to express who they are through fashion. Sights of gold, white, black, denim and yellow dresses typically scatter the crowd, as well as any Vanderbilt gear and gold and black overalls. Some hard-core fans will even paint their bodies. Jerseys with players’ numbers are also a common sight, and some students will throw on some cowboy boots for a little Nashville charm. There is no going wrong with what to wear, but I do suggest something a bit cooler as temperatures are supposed to hit 96  degrees on Saturday.  
It is important that you prepare for these games since it entails hours standing crowded together in the heat. While it is a lot of fun, some items can make the experience a whole lot more enjoyable. The stadium bag policy states that clear bags 12”x 6”x12” are allowed, as well as small clutches the size of your palm without a handle or strap. To pack this bag, I would put in a portable fan to help manage the extreme weather, a portable charger so that your phone does not die mid-game, hygiene items so that you stay fresh all game long, money to try all of the great concession options like the fan favorite Daddy’s Dog hotdogs and whatever else you need to optimize your experience.  
Be aware that signs, banners, noise makers, outside food or drink and cameras are not allowed.  
Football can be very confusing if you have not had a lot of experience watching or playing before. Here is a quick crash course to understand the gist of what is happening on the field. 
The name of the game is to get the ball into the endzone found at the end of either side of the field. If a team enters their designated endzone with the ball, they earn 6 points and an opportunity to earn an extra point with a field goal. 
 The players do that by having four attempts to go for 10 yards. If they can run or throw the ball for 10 yards, they get first down. On the fourth try though, the team has a tough decision to make: They can either punt the ball in order to give the other team worse field position, kick a field goal through the yellow poles to gain 3 points or go for it and try and finish their 10 yards. 
 The risk with that option is that if they do not make it, the other team gets the ball where they ended off. Possession switches when the ball is punted off, the offense runs out of tries, the ball is intercepted or the ball is fumbled, which is when the ball is dropped and fair game for the team to pick up.  
For the first game of the 2026-2027 season, Vanderbilt will face Austin Peay State University with a kickoff at 6 p.m. CDT. Senior Blaze Berlowitz, who wears #1, was named the starting quarterback with captains MK Young, Cole Spence, Issa Ouattara and Nick Rinaldi backing him up. It is bound to be an exciting game.  
To increase the spirit, cheerleaders will lead chants. It is good that you know some of these going into the game so that you are ready to respond when called upon. One of the most common ones is that a cheerleader will yell “Black” and “Gold”, and you are expected to call it back. There obviously is the classic, “Let’s go Vandy!” Most of the cheers are self-explanatory, but participation matters because it raises the atmosphere and makes the student body feel like a community.  
The Spirit of Gold marching band is there to bring the energy up, opening the day with a show. Each game they play a different set of recognizable pieces in the unique marching band style. Their musical expertise along with the skill of their twirlers and color guards provide just another element of school spirit that makes the gameday magical.  
I hope that you are as excited as I am for the upcoming game. Get yourself a Daddy’s Dog, some cute photos and have a whole lot of fun. I hope you all enjoy your first game at FirstBank. Go ‘Dores! 
The official student newspaper of Vanderbilt University
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