Akon was at Fall Fest at WVU last night and you saw a lot of what you’d expect on the first night of the fall semester. It was full celebration mode, which I always found most enjoyable about college. The first few days were a party, almost as if the summer was over and now the fun could begin.

Anyhow, the headline act was of great interest to most of the crowd and to one WVU football player in particular. Curtis Feigt, a true freshman from Germany, happens to be a pretty big fan.

Ever since he was first introduced to the game, Feigt wanted to play in America. He decided he would experience one season of high school football, which meant preparing himself culturally so he could fit in among his peers.

Some would go for books, television or movies popular in America. Feigt opted for rap.

He was 10 or 11 years old and again drawn to something different.

“I heard it on the radio first and then I started watching MTV and all of that, and I kind of got into it and I liked it,” he said. “I kept listening to it.”

Before long, he had his favorites and was bobbing his head to DMX and Limp Bizkit.

“I started to learn a different way people talk here,” he said. “It helped me out a lot.”

I find this interesting today because — and I don’t care if you laugh — I dig Third Eye Blind. I guess you could say they had an influence on my life, though not quite like rap to Feigt. I’ll explain later.

They were the middle act last night, sandwiched between Kelly Pickler and Akon, which allowed me to get in, get out and return to my element at a proper hour. Hell, I didn’t even know until last Tuesday they’d be at the show and when I found out, I’d say the level of interest among my friends was somewhere between tepid and nonexistent.

My sister, four years my younger, as a different story and she demanded updates. I complied because I was actually excited, which is sort of rare. A lot of the songs, though, remind me of good times in a fun time in my life as high school transitioned into college. You’re able to remember people and places you don’t often see anymore through a song, which, I think, is pretty cool despite the artist inspiring those thoughts.

I think I saw the band in 1999 at George Mason, though that could be wrong, which is kind of the point. It was a long time ago, but it perseveres. Again, I don’t care if you point and chuckle, but “Jumper” is a good jam I’ve always liked — and wouldn’t the lyrics fit so well here? Imagine if The Product had just said, “Everyone’s got to face down the demons. Maybe today we can put the past away.” I’d love the guy for that.

I was curious how the crowd would respond to some songs. They were, like, 6, 7, 8 years old when these songs first came out … and they knew the words. The older songs were actually more popular than the newer ones. I was stunned, and that was before I learned Third Eye Blind has the No. 1 album now.

Who knew? Suddenly I didn’t feel so out of place and my faith was fully restored a short while later. I was standing in an interminably long line to get a drink. I got to the front and cashed in a ticket with Someone I Know. I joked, “I should probably get two so I don’t have to wait in that line again.” Someone I Know smiled, declined and gave me my ticket back, which was nice.

As I left, a completely random girl, no doubt inspired by the music, said, “I could give you mine if you give me that ticket.” So I handed over the ticket, she handed over the drink and I walked away with two drinks. (I also saw a security officer had been spying on the transaction and when he walked my way, I had a decision to make: play it cool, or throw a drink and run. I played it cool and he went past me to someone else. Can’t say the same would have happened 11 years ago.)

The people I was with were shocked. We figured the girl just didn’t like the particular drink she had and wanted another. Echo fading, we can’t let go, she goes walking by in slow-mo with the same drink. She tipped her cup to wave to me. I replied in kind. It’s going to be a good year, yes?