People of all ages lined up along the University of Arizona mall, cheering as the parade for the 100th Homecoming unfolded. While they all may have different backgrounds and stories, most share one thing in common: they've spent time in Tucson as Arizona Wildcats.
"To come back and really just celebrate the culture of the U of A," current medical school student Chan Jung said. "I think Tucson is centered around the University, so it's awesome that people can all be coming back here for homecoming to celebrate and have a great time."
#BearDown Arizona! Happy homecoming, so cool to see so much #Wildcat pride today. Here's the homecoming parade! @kgun9 @UofA 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/L24zbkvdnJ
— Max Darrow (@MaxDarrowTV) October 28, 2017
While many enjoyed the party atmosphere on the mall leading up to the football game, some people reminisced about their fondest memories while on campus, like Raymond Elzey.
"Oh it's terrific," he said. "All of the memories that float back into your mind, it's just overwhelming."
Elzey graduated in 1947 and was a quarterback on the Arizona football team.
"I'm 93 years old," he said.
He's come back to Tucson for at least 30 homecoming games. He admits, things have changed a lot since he was on campus in the 1940s.
"I had a girl ask me the other day, did you have computers when you were in school," Elzey said, chuckling. "A computer wasn't a dream in sombody's eye when I was in school!"
Nevertheless, his Wildcat pride has only increased.
"Yeah, bear down," he said. "That's the famous motto, bear down. It's engraved in my memory."
