Cheering Like A Republican

If you want know how to act at a convention, check out the Texas delegation. First, they all wear the same outfit topped with a cowboy hat, so they are really noticeable. The California alternates —which is what I am—sit behind the Texas delegation and in front of the Texas alternates, so it's kind of like Texas surround sound.

It's a fun sight to see 100 cowboy hats being waved in unison. Anyway, the Texas delegation also leads cheers. On Tuesday night, during some of the breaks, the delegation would yell "McCain!" and the alternates would respond with "Palin!" They're also encouraging people to stand up and wave their signs, and they even tried to get the wave going.

Other delegations I noticed were Pennsylvania waving their yellow "terrible" towels, Florida waving their orange towels, American Samoa in their flowery shirts, and Michigan wearing some very cool hockey sweaters with the number 08 on the back.

The Michigan delegation cheered the loudest at Hockey Mom comments. The Maryland delegation also started a good back-and-forth chant for Michael Steele on Wednesday night. Of course, whenever your state is mentioned, you stand up and cheer like crazy. These convention nights are a lot of fun—part political pageantry and part sporting event.

Speaking of sporting events, when I was in high school and college, my two sisters refused to sit with me at baseball games because they hated my cheering. I would cheer really, really loudly in a very throaty and raucous yell. Since then, I've mellowed, and don't cheer as loudly at baseball games.

But Wednesday night, at the Republican Convention, I resurrected that voice and cheered as loudly as I ever have at any sporting event. What an awesome night!