“The View From Section 105″
Greetings Johnnie Football fans. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dana Buttenhoff and I am a content contributor to JohnnieFootball.com as well as assisting in publicity and website traffic generation. If you have any suggestions for an article or spreading the word about JohnnieFootball.com let us know, as we are always looking for feedback from “The Johnnie Nation”.
There is something very special about spending an autumn Saturday in Collegeville to cheer on the Johnnies.
My story is a little bit different than my esteemed colleagues. I did not attend SJU. My greatest exposure to the Johnnie Football program came when I was invited to purchase season tickets in the fall of 1999 by my sister in-law to watch my nephew, who was an incoming freshman, suit up for the Johnnies that fall. 1999 was the Sweet Season. This was the year that Sports Illustrated writer Austin Murphy loaded up his family from the San Francisco Bay Area and moved for a season to Stearns County to write a book about John and the team. My nephew completed his time with the Johnnies on a sunny December Saturday in 2002 in San Antonio, Texas in a National Semi-Final loss to Trinity. One game, one play away from his goal of returning to the Stagg Bowl. Throughout this time my wife and I racked up some frequent flier miles visiting 8 states following the Johnnies. We continue to be very active Johnnie Football fans, years after our family connection to the program has graduated and is now a productive member of society.
Along the way I met and was welcomed into the brotherhood of Johnnie Football fans by Mike Wagner, Mike Fahey, Tim Ward and many others. There is something very special about spending an autumn Saturday in Collegeville to cheer on the Johnnies. The beauty of the changing maple trees, the smell of fresh grilled burgers and brats and the best football program in Minnesota, year in and year out! Come and join the fun, just one game and you’ll be a fan for life; I know I am!
