Craziness! Sports Overload!
The Michigan bye week could not have come at a better time for me. This has been the craziest week I have had in a very long time. Not to mention the craziness that is the BCS and the curse of being #1.
Last week was a huge week in my house for so many reasons. Only one reason was planned in advance, hence, let the craziness ensue. Around here, in DFW, there are these things called Marching Bands. Until my eldest daughter got involved 2 and a half years ago, I had no idea how much work they put in and how much my wife enjoyed being involved. My daughter joined the color guard and my wife became a “Guard Mom”. Well, the UIL, University Interscholastic League, here in the great state of Texas, made the decision that each division would compete for the state tile every OTHER year. Texas is made up of sizes that rum from A to 5A, with 5A the largest schools. So this year is a 5A year and here we go. They have been working so hard and the regional competition was last Tuesday and they made it through that so we go to Area on Saturday. Here comes the craziness.
We have had great weather this summer. It has been nice and calm and dry for a good long time until, Saturday. Marching band, unfortunately, takes place on a football field. So as a Tornado warning and deluge pounds the competition, the schedule gets way out of whack, and I am thanking the sports gods for 2 things, The Rangers finished off the Yankees the night before and that Michigan has a bye week.
Then there is the Rangers, what a distraction and mind boggler. Imagine how we would feel if the Lions made it to the Super Bowl. My brain has been mush for about 2 weeks. Every conversation works it way back to the series. My production is way down in all things. Including my blogs, but here goes and hang on I have a lot to put down.
It would be easy to complain about all this, but I won’t. Isn’t this what being a proud Father and proud sports fan all about! I love having so many things going on and so many ways to remove myself from the day-to-day blah blah blah that haunts us all. For so many years, Michigan had been my lone source of sports joy. They have always been good. Always been there at the top, playing in big games and getting the job done. These last few years have been rough on a fan like me. Putting up with the beating that is Texas fandom. Around here, it seems to be tradition that unless you root for OU or Texas, you root against the team that is succeeding. Some call it band wagoning, some call it douchery, I call it typical. With the failures of local teams, it shows who the real fans are. As the Cowboys are just plain awful, the real fans still go. They are getting tired of the high priced everything and beginning to rumble of rebellion against the Emporer. But they are still there. The Longhorns are struggling and the sea of burnt orange that permeates everything here is fading a little. On the other hand, Claws and Antlers are everywhere. Rangers fans have popped out of everywhere. Filling the ballpark with loud, happy people.
I grew up playing Little League baseball on the fields 2 blocks from my house in Port Huron. We played baseball everyday as kids. We would play with anything we could find on any open space we could find. We didn’t play “organized” baseball until we were 10, but we would ride our bikes up to the fields and jump the fence and play sometimes. We found out a golf ball travels farther than a baseball, but hurts more when the bat hits it. We learned that a Tennis Ball was the perfect ball to use most of the time, and that a racquetball flies well but it is hard to get any distance on it. Life lessons like that. We also learned that no matter what happens, you stayed with your team! I rooted for the Lions and the Tigers. The Wolverines and the Red Wings. The Pistons were an after thought to me since I didn’t really like basketball, but I cheered for them. That is something I am trying to teach my son.
He is only 6 and is beginning to form bonds with his friends at school and on his Baseball team. He likes watching football for a few minutes and then it is on to something else. He does know that Dad is a Michigan fan. He knows that if he sees and Ohio State logo or cap or t-shirt or anything, Dad will not like that. He knows that Maize and Blue are my favorite colors. He knows that my “M” coffee mug is my favorite. He knows that if Michigan is not doing well, Dad is not the happiest guy around.
With the struggle that Michigan has gone through, I have never wavered. I have rooted for TCU to do well because they are the closest team and it would screw up the BCS that I despise almost as much as OSU. I write all this stuff because my sports emotions have been on such a roller coaster these last 2 weeks that I wanted to share a little with you. Remember that being a fan has its rewards. Like being able to go to a World Series game on Saturday. My first sports Bucket List item.
When Michigan and Penn State get after it on Saturday night on ESPN I will be a little bit distracted, just as I have been all week. I looked at the stats for each team and thought it over quite a bit and I don’t think they make any difference. This game is all about guts and want to. Does Michigan want to be bowl eligible? Does Penn State want to protect their home field? Does the Michigan Defense have the guts to stop a team that doesn’t score a lot of points? Does the Michigan Offense have the guts to score on a team that doesn’t give up a lot? Bottom line is, I think they do. If RichRod cannot get this team ready to go into Happy Valley, maybe he is not the right guy? There, I said it. Being a fan doesn’t mean you are blind to reality.
Michigan – 35
Penn State – 17
