Honorary Sideline Coach...Me?

I received quite an interesting email just a moment ago. Here it is (names removed to protect the ever-so-guilty):

Dear Marcea,

My name is --- and I am a student assistant in Athletics Academic Services and in charge of organizing the Honorary Sideline Coach (HSC) program. We have taken nominations, and you have been nominated as an Honorary Sideline Coach by --- on the Soccer team!

As you know, we are in the midst of another exciting soccer season, and I am happy to extend to you an invitation to experience the excitement first hand as an HSC. This program provides a unique experience for our faculty to be with the team and participate in team activities on the day of the competition. The selection of the faculty to participate comes directly from our student athletes. Your name was submitted by --- because you have positively impacted her experience at UNI.

Umm...Honorary Sideline Coach? Did I miss something? What is this? Somebody please tell me. I am the least athletic or sports-minded person I know. And why have I never heard of anything like this before?  I am teaching a class at UNI on how to teach grammar to K-8 students and I do have one student who is on the soccer team. So this must have to do with her. Dang her for getting me involved! What the heck?

Essentially though, aside from the fact that I have no idea what an Honorary Sideline Coach is or does, here's my quandary -- the class I'm teaching is only a 1 credit hour course, and it's ONLINE!!!  I don't even know these students and they don't know me. I have no clue what they look like or sound like. I know them only from a few keystrokes every week.  As instructor-students, we've interacted a handful of times on our course website, and in terms of this soccer student, I've only corresponded with her via email once or twice. So how in the world could she have nominated me, ME!, to be such a thing?

I suppose I should be honored. Right? After all, it is an HONORARY title.  Or should I be suspicious? Is this some new type of student-instructor hazing?  Will I show up only and be the only one there? Or will I arrive in the midst of some "under-the-cloak-of-darkness" hazing ritual where they demand that I drink beer upside down, build a pyramid out of aluminum cans, and then sprint over hot coals just to get back to my car? (And then end up on someone's Facebook page, naturally.)

Then again, maybe this actually is a good thing -- a fine, upstanding, university-sanctioned event. Perhaps I will get a free T-Shirt or perhaps some pom poms to wave. Maybe all I have to do is show up and I'll be treated as "queen for a day," er "coach for a day." Maybe I can even ask for an official whistle and megaphone!

If I do decide to go, I just hope they wouldn't expect much, especially not (Heaven forbid) coaching!