NASHVILLE,
Tenn.---Tennessee State University's football team had true home-field advantage
Saturday against Austin Peay State University. For the first time since 1998,
the game was played at Hale Stadium or, "The Hole," as it's more commonly
referred to.
Tennessee
State University's official homecoming celebration isn't supposed to start for
another week, but it came early for alumni returning to "The Hole."
"It
feels fantastic to be back. There's no place like home," former TSU running
back Fred Lane said. "Back in ‘The Hole' is home for me and a lot of other
players."
Alumni,
current students and fans watched as the band marched down the hill to the
stadium. It was a nostalgic moment that rekindled the pride students remember
feeling for their University, and the closeness they felt to their classmates.
"Yeah we're back, we're back, we're back in ‘The Hole,'" one
alum exclaimed while she cheered and formed the letters T-S-U with her
hands.
"We
worked hard, very hard. And we played hard, very hard," Lane added. "And we won
a lot, a whole lot."
More
than 14,000 fans filled the stands to watch TSU beat APSU 34 to 14. Current students may not fully realize that they too are
now a part of TSU history.
"It feels really good, a Freshman said. "It's my first home
game so I'm really excited."
They're
part of a long standing tradition, some students say they hope will continue.
"I hope every season is played here now," Junior Dezmond Perry said. "I'm
not sure how that's going to happen but it would be really good if every season
was played here at The Hole."
TSU
will continue to play its home games at LP Field. This season two more games
are scheduled to be played at Hale Stadium on October 6th and 27th.
