All Things Football

Sigh. Football season is drawing to a close. And while this means that the most exciting games are coming up (and that Christmas is on its way!), it's still a bummer. Saturday was the last home game, which we won quite handily. We're on our way to Jacksonville, and hopefully (the critics are liking our chances) the Orangey-Floridian theme will continue. We might just play a BCS bowl for the first time in (I do believe) 16 years. The pundits are putting us up against Louisville. Not sure how I feel about that... it's a nice neutral opponent, but I sure would love another crack at Brady Quinn and the stupid Irish. Would we get our butts kicked? I don't think that's a certainty at all. We did excellently in the season opener (that seems so far away now!), and Notre Dame's 10-1 record is a bit misleading. Michigan beat the snot out of them, Michigan State nearly pulled off the upset, and their wins over 1-10 Stanford, 2-9 North Carolina, and 3-8 Army aren't that impressive. Which is not to say that we haven't had our share of small teams to thump (winless Duke and AA Samford certainly come to mind, not to mention that we didn't do too well against UNC), but NOTRE DAME ISN'T OHIO STATE, PEOPLE! OSU has also had their share of games this season against sub-par teams, but in each game, they have resoundingly THUMPED the competition.

I'm willing to say it: this season, Notre Dame has been as inconsistent as we are. Bah. Jerks. KaMichael Hall would eat Brady Quinn for lunch. Ooooooh, the hype around Notre Dame and their BCS #5 ranking makes me unreasonably angry. Moving on.

On Friday, we had the weird but fun experience of North Georgia High School football. We went with our friend Lacey to Blue Ridge to see her hubby Michael filming the game. It was like being home again, except a little more "Deliverance" and a little less "Hee-Haw." It felt weird cheering for the all-white Fannin County Rebels against the predominantly black Manchester (who won, by the way). I found it amusing that Fannin County had nicer uniforms, a nicer band, were bigger, etc. etc. than Manchester, but still weren't that good. Before anyone blasts me for knocking North Georgia, High School football, or the South in general, let me just say that I enjoyed it, I wasn't particularly offended, and it was fun to see folks enjoying themselves and not worrying about traffic, building codes, or pollution. The two things that freaked me out the most were: 1) UGA paraphenalia EVERYWHERE, and 2) how much it felt just like our home stadium back in rural New Mexico. Badly bleached hair, tons of eye makeup... no smell of cows, though. I'll count my blessings. Mooooooo.

Well, in just a little while, football season will be over, and I'll find something else to obsess over. Because I'm not talking football during the off-season. Certainly not discussing Calvin Johnson. Especially not during the NFL Draft.

CALVIN, DON'T LEAVE US!!! auuuuuughhhhhhh