Saturday, November 18, 2006

Day #18 - Are you Ready for Some Football?

(Football photo courtesy of Southwestern Oklahoma State University)
Hey kids. Do you know what today is? Apparently, it's a big time football day! Don't worry if you didn't know that, though. Until recently, I didn't know, either.

Turns out there are two "The Games" today: Harvard/Yale and Ohio State/Michigan. I don't know how one could determine which was more important. Perhaps connection to the college in question? I mean, I've always been peripherally aware of the Harvard/Yale game. I grew in a suburb of Boston, after all. Around here, Harvard is practically banal.

However, I was not aware of the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry until I started dating Nick. Nick, by the way, is a huge football fan. If the man is at home on a Saturday around 10:00 am and doesn't turn on College Gameday, I get concerned.

It's a good thing I was raised in a household where it was ok to be a massive sports fan. And went to college with a bunch of boys who were big video game players. All of these experiences have honed my skills, actually. I know that you don't talk too much during football/baseball/basketball games, whether real or on the video game screen. I know that any expectation of a normal, back-and-forth conversation is unreasonable when a big game is on. And I know the big one - DO NOT WALK IN FRONT OF THE TV. If you must cross in front of the TV screen, you must either jump or wait for a judicious moment to run.

All of this makes it sound like Nick is a bad, football-crazed boyfriend. Please don't think that. Remember last weekend, when he took me for a walk on the beach while football was being played? Remember our first date, when he decided to forgo a whole day's worth of football to spend time with me?

Besides, my father took my mother home early on their first date so he could catch the Red Sox game (the VCR hadn't been invented yet), so I don't freak out about this stuff as much as some girly-girls might. Plus, it's a nice change from the artsy-fartsy ex who just looked uncomfortable if there were professional sports on the TV.

Now, I'm off to shower & shop for my mother's birthday gifts. After that, it's out to South Boston to meet Nick & his friends. They're at the BC/Maryland game now, then we're meeting up to watch the Ohio State/Michigan game. Because I studied abroad with two boys from Ohio, I think I have to say it - Go Buckeyes!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ohio State/Michigan is the biggest football game. I didn't even say 'college football game.' About 200,000-250,000 people go to this game. Yeah, the statium be it Columbus or Ann Arbor only sits about 130,000, but the party in the parking lot/city is just as big as in the stadium. Harvard/Yale, though older, can't even really be talked about in the same sentence. The fact that you didn't know about this game until Nick is just... insane.

(people from Texas/Oklahoma/Nebraska may not agree with anything I have said. or USC. or Florida. but whatever.)