THIS is How You Drop In On A College Football Game

I’m afraid of heights. I need to go lay down now I think.

Awesome. Been to the big house a few times and it’s a scene to see.

pretty awesome video.

About 18 years ago I did that, but not in a stadium. Was one of the coolest & scariest things I’ve ever done. Had a jump master attached to my back. Free fell for about 45 secs, then about 5 minutes of chute. I paid the extra $100 for a video of it. Still get butterflies when I watch it.

I used to skydive. I did it for about 2.5 years. Have well over 100 jumps under my belt and watching that made me miss it. I can tell you that hitting that target is actually pretty easy. I could do it about 90% of the time and I only had 100 or so jumps. My guess is that Army guy has between 2,000 and 4,000 jumps. Doing into a stadium of 100K would be unreal though.

The coolest part was hearing the rush of the wind get enveloped by the roar of the crowd.

Texoz,
No offense, but you saying “I did that” is like me saying my wife played in the Superbowl except it was powderpuff football instead—coached by guys from her high school varsity. Have some appreciation for the skill it takes to do that kind of on-time, on-target drop-in (of course while streaming flags, spraying smoke, and wearing the gameball strapped to your chest).

Guy I know was a PJ (Pararescueman) in the Air Force with about 600 HALOs (high altitude low-opening) jumps. He may even be a Longhorns fan being that he was stationed at Bergstrom back in the early 90’s. Anyway, he had to change career fields when he landed wrong and broke his back in several places. I’ll never forget how he told me that he got up from that jump feeling ok but knowing he landed hard. Went home and after a couple hours noticed how one leg went numb, then the other. He said when he couldn’t feel his dick, he knew he had a problem and went to the base hospital. Had a ton of great PJ stories…some of ’em pretty salty, but still makes me laugh to think of them.

first day at jump school at benning they really put on a show for us, highlighted by a four-man halo operation. they jumped from a small plane at 10000 feet and, on the ground, we couldn’t even find the plane. as they descended, we craned our necks, looking for them, and, after a time, i spotted a dark spot (can you spot a spot?) that seemed to grow. sure enough, it was one of them, and they guy fell and fell and then pulled a beautiful wing-like parachute unlike anything i ever was allowed to use, and he buzzed around trailing smoke from his boots.

a second, and then a third joined him, but the real show was the fourth guy who kept blazing right in with a truly special canopy that swirled like snoopy’s scarf behind him. not far from the ground he drew up and one of the smoke boots went one way and the other went another. then, inexplicably, he released that cool parachute and pulled another, which was as ordinary a parachute as you’ve ever seen, except that each quadrant was a different color. one orange, another white, the third camouflage, and i don’t recall the fourth. it opened not long before he landed, and the timing was absolutely buster keaton-ish.

never mind the disappointment with the plain, if colorful, parachute, we knew a real performance when we saw one, and we yelled lustily in our appreciation.

the three weeks went by as slowly as any three i’ve managed to get through, but in the third week, jump week, the black hats began to loosen up and even chat with us a bit. in an off-hand moment, one quizzed the little group i was in regarding our take on the cigarette roll we saw the first day. we had been taught some time or other about malfunctions and learned that one of the worst was the cigarette roll. that’s what that guy was doing the first day? he was augering in? the instructor told us they expected half the class to quit after witnessing the near fatality. hell, we thought it was part of the show.

now, the funny part for me was that there had been a mixup after basic training, and there was no place for us to go for a couple of weeks. we were all 43e2p — riggers — and, unlike all other mos’s (i think), we were required to complete jump school before they would train us in our specialty. the army didn’t want to feed us for two weeks, so we got to go home. then, the night before i boarded a flight to benning, i had one of my patented shrieking nightmares. i dreamed i was driving out in the countryside in my old tr-3, and had the top down, which i never liked doing. i heard odd plane noises and looked around, spotting a faltering small plane, with the pilot bailing out. the ‘chute didn’t inflate, and in the dream i saw the guy scream all the way in, and he bounced after he hit. (i’ve later been told that that really sometimes happens).

well, just a couple of days later i was within a few seconds of seeing exactly that happen not 50 yards in front of me. i still get goosebumps when i think about it.

“I need to go lay down now I think.”

Lie down.

ha, i just saw the whole vid for the first time. it is excellent, srr. thanks for linking it.

i’m pretty sure the guy intended to do a stand-up landing which is frowned upon by the army. except, i’m sure, in situations like this. the army goes to great lengths to teach a controlled collapse called the parachute landing fall, and i was told that some guy did a stand-up landing in jump school within sight of an instructor. the instructor ran over and told him if he knew what was good for him, he would fall down.

one of the school jumps i had the displeasure of landing in front of a black hat. when i got up i asked him if it was a good plf. he asked if i was hurt. i said i was not. he said it was a good plf.

There is a golf course next to the stadium, pretty cool

good tailgating on that course. just like the rose bowl.