I worked traffic detail during football and basketball games for the Michigan State University public safety department while an undergrad.  I had the BEST job for football games as a flagman.

There were two railroad tracks between the main parking lot and the football stadium, and the buses had to cross both.  The law says that a bus has to stop at the train tracks unless there’s a flagman watching for trains. 

I developed an art form waving that red pennant on a pole with a flourish, a dance, and a smile. By the third or fourth game, I was a fan favorite. Since the busses did not start until 11 or 12 and we were paid beginning at 9, I would show up early, read a book, do my homework, eat a snack and jump up in time to wave all the fans to the game. 

Once the riders were delivered, we could walk over to the stadium and get in for free to watch the second and third quarters.  Finish the afternoon back at my post and wave the returning Sparty supporters back to their cars.  And the finest meal of the week in the dorms was the hamburgers on soft buns after every home football game.  Hunger enhances any meal. 

Of course, times have changed.  The university and the state decided that those railroad tracks were a public safety hazard because trains could block them for twenty or thirty minutes and prevent ambulances from getting onto and off campus.  SO, they built lovely bridges for the trains, and the road now goes under the tracks. The bridges are nice and all, and the area is hailed as a beautiful entrance to campus, but they don’t need a flagman anymore.