OUR VIEW: The first football game and tailgate should’ve been later in the semester, not the first week of school.

Everyone knows the drill. Bright lights. All day tailgating. Greeks setting up trashketball, corn hole and their giant letters in the dusty, gravel parking lot. Girls and boys alike clad in maroon and mustard yellow (which we call gold). There’s nothing like a game of Texas football.

Except the first game of the year.

Unlike past years, the season opener of the Mustang football team was on Thursday, Aug. 31. College football games are supposed to be on Saturdays — that’s just how it goes. We don’t understand why they scheduled a game on a Thursday (during the first week of classes, too) right before Labor Day weekend. It just doesn’t make any sense.

Staff members who attended the tailgate said it was dead. College football tailgates aren’t supposed to be dead — they’re supposed to be lively and packed full of students.

Sorority recruitment fell during that same week, which meant the four sororities were busy at the Multipurpose Event Center, getting dozens of brand new members instead of tailgating at the game. This left the tailgate pretty empty, which means the stands weren’t too full, either.

While there were still enough attendees to give the team some energy, there would’ve been more students at the game if the season opener was later on in the month. It would’ve been worth the wait.