At the last Tech home football game, I was in the student section among my friends cheering for the good plays and yelling when the referee made a bad call or one of the players didn't make a catch.

Sounds normal -- right?

Well, it isn't, not for me at least.

When did I become a football fan?

I was a cheerleader in high school, so I was at every football game, but I never understood what was going on.

I knew that when the ball on the scoreboard was by our score I needed to call an offense cheer, and when it was by the other team's score, a defense cheer.

However, that was pretty much the extent of it.

I remember we had one cheer that went "First and 10, first down do it again."

I don't think I ever did that cheer because I had no idea what it meant or when to call it.

I can remember standing there reading the list of cheers and thinking "What in the world is first and 10? How is anyone supposed to know when to do this one?"

The last thing any cheerleader wants to do is call the wrong cheer because the fans will laugh -- I have seen them do it.

But something changed when I got to Tech.

I think it all started when I signed up for Intramural flag football my freshman year.

The team I played with took it very seriously so I learned many football rules I had never heard of before.

Who am I kidding, I didn't know any football rules before, so they were all new to me.

I learned that a team had four tries to make it 10 yards and if they didn't they lost possession.

It all made sense after that, first, second, third and fourth down.

"First and 10, first down do it again," now I get it.

I felt the sudden urge to go back to my high school and cheer at a football game because I finally understood.

Once I got the jist of how the game worked, I could actually watch it without getting bored or distracted. I wanted to know what was happening, what different calls meant and why we got certain penalties.

I probably drive the people around me crazy because I ask so many questions when they are trying to watch the game.

My proudest moment probably came a few weeks ago when I was watching "Varsity Blues" on TV.

The quarterback is trying to stop the clock, so immediately after the ball is snapped, he throws it toward the sidelines and hits the other team's mascot.

I knew that could not really happen so I said, "He can't really do that, he didn't get out of the pocket."

I know my fiancŽ was probably impressed with my comment while at the same time thinking, "How did she know that?"

One of my favorite things to do is talk to our Tech Talk sports editors on Monday about the previous weekend's game.

They know everything about the sport and I like to think I can hold my own in a conversation most of the time, but for all I know they laugh at me behind my back because I say the wrong thing.

But, it really doesn't matter.

I am now a football fan and proud of it.

I can watch a game on TV or in the stands and not get bored.

I am talking about any game, not just Tech games.

The Saints, other schools, you name it -- if it is exciting I will watch it and more than likely I will understand what is going on.

Nicole Broussard is a senior journalism major from Mandeville and serves as editor for The Tech Talk.