Coach

I'll be the first to admit it - I wasn't always a football fan. We would go to my grandmother's on Sundays for family dinner and part of that day was spent in the living room with the fireplace going, cheering for some team...usually the Patriots. I didn't get it, I didn't want to, so I made sure that I always had a book with me to keep myself entertained. Yes, I was a geeky kid, and to a degree I still am. My junior year of high school, I inexplicably became obsessed with Notre Dame. I watched the games, I wanted to go there, and I needed to understand how football was played.

This was pre-internet, pre-wikipedia, who to turn to? The biggest football fan I knew, I went upstairs and asked Auntie Jo to explain the game to me. The next Sunday I got a lesson in downs, holding, off-sides, and two-point conversions. I was hooked. I loved the game, I loved the uncertainty that any given Sunday a team could pull off a win. It all played out on tv until I got to grad school.



Ohio State University is one of the elite college football teams. My first year there - I didn't get it. I couldn't wrap my head around why everything stopped from noon until 10pm on Saturdays. Why would people move heaven and earth to be in Columbus on a Saturday? My second year of grad school my roommate, Bridget, coerced me into getting season tickets by explaining that I would never be able to get seats like this for so little money ever again. So I went. To say it was electric would be a gross understatement. There were over 100,000 fans in the stadium, over 100,000 outside the stadium. The air pulsed with the energy from the OSU faithful. Rock concerts have a similar vibe, but do not compare to feeling in the Horseshoe on a Saturday. I am eternally grateful to Bridget for dragging me there - in rain or shine to see the Buckeyes play.

Why do I wax philosophical on football this weekend? Because my OSU Buckeyes and New England Patriots are still undefeated this season. After a shaky first half, the Buckeyes rolled over Wisconsin in the second half for a win and the Patriots fought and pulled out a win over Indianapolis. Any given Sunday.