Football (the American variety) has never been my favorite sport.
Give me a good game of basketball, and I will be happy.
But this weekend, I donned my football fan togs twice. Both times because it made women happy.
There is a woman I have worked with for over twenty years. Let's call her Beth. Because that is her name. She was my first paralegal. Then she went on to better positions in the company.
I have been meaning to take her out to dinner before I head south. When I suggested Saturday night, she informed me dinner would have to be early or late -- either before or after the game between her beloved Ducks and Stanford University.
I suspect she thought I would not be interested in the game. But I was. If I could share a bit of conversation with her. So, we split the baby -- and decided to have dinner in a local sports bar.
The game was advertised as a major match-up. Both teams were undefeated. And the Ducks were seeking revenge for a humiliating defeat last year.
There is something about watching sports in an eating establishment. All of the usual dining protocols disappear in favor of rank chauvinism. This being Salem, there was not a large Stanford contingent to defend the Cardinal (the color not the bird; Stanford having become so post-modern that mascots become Teutonic concepts).
And there was emotion to spare. The Ducks started off slow enough to qualify as a Pop Warner team. After the first quarter, they trailed 21 to 3. Librium was distributed freely.
You can imagine the pandemonium when the Ducks finally realized football was the game of choice, and pulled off a 52-31 victory. Leapfrogging them into the number 3 position nationally.
But the best part of the evening was renewing my friendship with Beth. After all, relationships even trump sports.
I had another example of that on Sunday afternoon. My niece, the angelic Kaitlyn, is a freshman at Oregon State University. When she enrolled for her classes, she stopped by the marching band booth. Piano and violin are her instruments. Not the best marching band choices.
Instead, she signed up to be part of the band's flag team. Even though she had never twirled a flag in her life, she signed up. Lack of confidence not being a Cotton personality trait.
On the first day of football season, there she was. Right up front -- leading the band onto the field.
A football weekend? Certainly, it was.
But, more than that. It was a great weekend to rebuild relationships.
7 comments:
A great weekend for football!!! Love the game and love the Ducks. We are an ND family but the Ducks pull at my heart....is it the mascot, so cute... or the colors of the team, love their multiple outfits:} I always follow them and hope to see a game first hand!!! Glad you are coming back to Mexico you will be in our neck of the woods when you come to Merida, we are close by in a little town near the water called Chixulub. Glad you enjoyed the game.
Ah my old alma mader way back in the 60's right after they removed Latin from BA requirements. Good memories of Eugene
not a good football weekend for us. our gators lost, so did the seahawks (nothing new there) and so did every other team we cheered for. or i should say, steve cheered for. i was too busy having fun hiking in the mountains on sat. second great hike in as many weekends.
so what is the countdown? how many more weeks till you leave? i'm sure you are very eager to head south. wish i could go down for the winter, but that won't be happening for another 6 years. i'm grateful i got those 2 winters in chacala.
have a great day!
teresa
It pains me that you included a picture from the OSU and not Oregon.
Karen -- It certainly was an exciting game. But I look forward to getting back to Mexico -- and seeing Yucatan.
El Jubilado -- I remrember the joys of Latin. An experience not shared by many college students these days. And that is too bad. Those lessons come back during my feeble attempts to learn Spanish.
Teresa -- As exciting as the game was, I would have preferred a good hike.
Mbsmith94 -- The OSU photograph is of my niece, of course. Having attended neither OSU or Oregon, I can afford to polish my "no-dog-in-that-fight" perspective.
You take after your mother. I too, prefer basketball to football. However, I did watch the Oregon/Stanford game. It was exciting. The Oregon State game was not televised here. That is a great picture of Kaitlyn with the Band.
Mom
Curvas peligros y sin frenos! I went to high school football games for one reason: to look for boys. And I usually found what I wanted to find. Now I do like the occasional NFL Saints game. LSU is too depressing as its up and down. And way too far now for a drive.
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