The tailgaters descended on the parking lot around Ryan Field long ago, some tipping back mimosas in wine glasses and flipping eggs on the grill, their breakfast fare keeping with the early hour. By 11 a.m., the mass has relocated to the sun-soaked stadium, anxious for the kickoff that will mark Northwestern University’s season opener against Syracuse. Wildcats fans hyped up on beer and Chicago hot dogs and too much face paint shout and wave at ESPN cameras, delighted to have returned to their home turf in Evanston, Ill.

 

Up in section 127, row 38, a family sits. The sister proudly sports a purple jersey emblazoned with her last name. She’s been saving Saturdays for football for as long as she can remember, and while she’s long-hair-big-smile-cheerleader pretty, she knows more about the roles of a Willie, Mike or Sam linebacker than how to form a human pyramid.

 

The mother beside her sits with brown eyes wide, body tense. Through the years she’s grown to understand this game — what to pray for when it’s fourth and 17, when to expect the coach to call a time-out. But she’ll never understand the physicality of it, and she cringes whenever helmets crash and knees buckle and bodies land.

 

The father is more at ease. He scrutinizes the formations on the field below, makes mental judgments about the plays and enjoys the chance to breathe in a game he once played. Last night, someone asked him how he thought Northwestern would fare today. He said the first half would be shaky because of the new offense, but that things would eventually gel. It’s an educated prediction made from years of intently watching the Wildcats, and before the day is done, the proud father of No. 18 will prove to be right.

 

Running a hurry-up offense that has Syracuse scrambling just to line up, Northwestern dominates the first quarter, but can’t seem to finish drives. Quarterback C.J. Bacher throws an interception within the first six minutes and the team doesn’t score a touchdown until just before halftime.

 

A 6-foot-2, 200-pounder with baby cheeks and disheveled black hair whose face echoes his mother’s Korean roots and his father’s Irish-French ancestry, Bacher has worry on his brow. He was named co-captain a week ago and he’d like to lead this team out of trouble.

 

But, as his father foretold, the second half brings with it a happy ending. Northwestern cruises to a 30-10 win, with Bacher going 23 for 35 with three touchdowns.

 

Winning at home is always sweet, although it doesn’t matter where Bacher plays. That mother and father and sister are always in the bleachers. Any field, anywhere — home comes to him.

 

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K.C. Bacher (pronounced buh-SHAY), 55, is outgoing and funny, at ease with strangers and accustomed to dealing with attention, having been a football standout at New Hampshire University. His wife, Susie, 47, is reserved and quiet, happy volunteering and cooking at home.