For the most part, homecoming is the most anticipated time of year. Soul food on the sidewalks, family and friends from out of town, and a feeling of school pride, make the historical event fun for everyone.
Young and old Rattlers celebrate the festive occasion by taking pictures, going to events, and capturing memories of a lifetime.
Freshmen like Brandon Mitchell are excited about their first homecoming.
“The upperclassmen have told me all about it (homecoming),” said Mitchell, 18, a freshman theatre student from Kansas City. “I’m just ready to kick it with my boys.”
Mitchell said he’s looking forward to The Big Show, which will feature performances by Ludacris, Chingy and Lil Jon and the East Side Boys.
“I have to see Chingy. That’s my boy,” Mitchell said.
The concert is just one of the events that bring in large numbers.
The homecoming fashion show is another popular crowd pleaser for students.
Stephanie Benoit, 20, a psychology student from West Palm Beach said that fashion show is her favorite event.
“The fashion show is exciting to watch; it’s such a spectacular show, Benoit said.
Like anything else there is a down side. Not all students are picking up the phones making plans for next weeks line up.
Junior business finance student, Brian Mosley, can sum up his idea of homecoming in one word.
“Overrated,” said the 19-year-old junior from Washington D.C.
Mosley said that homecoming is never all what it’s hyped up to be.
“Every year it’s a disappointment,” Mosley said. “At the concerts either no one shows up or they get on the stage and don’t want to sing.”
Mosley said that for him the club is his favorite part, “and that has nothing to do with the school,” he added.
And what would Tallahassee be during homecoming without the overwhelming crowds on Tennessee.
” The traffic is horrible,” Benoit said. “It’s never ending. You can’t go anywhere you need to be.”
On top of the no-shows and traffic jams, lines seem to increasingly make students sigh heavy breaths of frustration.
Samantha Luck, 20, a junior elementary education student from Washington D.C. said that she’s hoping the lines won’t be so long this year.
“I don’t know what they (administration) plans on doing this year about the lines because last year they were ridiculous,” she said.
However, Luck said other than that she can’t wait to spend homecoming with her best friend who’s coming down from Maryland.
She laughed with friends as they talked about their plans for next week.
“I’m looking forward to all of the parties, the school pride, and seeing plenty of faces that you don’t see everyday,” Luck said. “I’m even looking forward to the concert; that it if they come.”