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Video: A Different View Of The Nippert Stadium Skydivers

The University of Cincinnati is not the only school to employ skydivers in their football pre game. Perhaps most famously Army has the gameball brought into the stadium at every home game by the Black Knights Parachute Team. In 2008 a pair of skydivers dropped in on Wallace Wade Stadium an hour before Duke's kickoff with James Madison. The only problem? They were aiming for North Carolina's Kenan Stadium, located 10 miles away.

What the Bearcats do lacks the prestige and history of what the Black Knights do. Nor does it have anything like the comedy of the UNC/Duke fiasco. At least it hasn't since the Bearcat was grounded, permanently, for obvious reasons. But it is still one of the experiences that makes games at Nippert so unique, particularly at night.

There is simply nothing quite like looking to the sky and losing all sense of depth and perspective as the skydivers reach for, ignite and burn out one flair after the other. I am pretty sure it was Mike Waddell who started the tradition, but it is as much a part of Cincinnati Football as the charge down the stadium steps. Its how we all know that kickoff is close.

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