The Cold Truth
I'm nominating son-in-law David for the honor of "Fanatic Fan of the Year" based on last weekend's performance.
I should first mention that David lives in Columbus, OH, which is not only the state's capital and largest city, but also home of a formidable football team, the Ohio State Buckeyes. David, however, is a BYU guy, and is interested in OSU only as a means of knowing how to avoid game day traffic jams.
BYU still plays most of its games in the West, but they are a football independent now and can theoretically schedule just about everyone. ESPN, the kings of cable, have helped this happen. Last Saturday the Cougars came to South Bend, IN to play Notre Dame.
The Columbus - South Bend trip takes about seven hours to drive, and David decided that was as close as his alma matre's team would be coming, so he made plans months ago to be there. Daughter Anna went, too, and she never even attended BYU, though she has an uncle who's on the faculty. Maybe I should nominate her, too.
Late November in the Midwest can be brutally cold, and that was the couple's misfortune. The temperature was under thirty, and the wind made it feel like the teens. Snow flurries flew from time to time as well. It must have felt like an icicle through the heart, and it only got worse as the game dragged on. They stayed to the end, which by then required lights to see.
It wasn't a bad game as these things go, but the home town Irish got the win, leaving nothing for the two of them to do but point the car back towards home. I'd hate to guess how long it took to regain feeling in all their appendages, but they made it back, no doubt thankful that growing up in Idaho and Iowa probably aided their ability to withstand pain in this academic Antarctica. We can only hope that next year's schedule allows a November trip to somewhere a bit more human-friendly, like Shreveport or Mobile.
I should first mention that David lives in Columbus, OH, which is not only the state's capital and largest city, but also home of a formidable football team, the Ohio State Buckeyes. David, however, is a BYU guy, and is interested in OSU only as a means of knowing how to avoid game day traffic jams.
BYU still plays most of its games in the West, but they are a football independent now and can theoretically schedule just about everyone. ESPN, the kings of cable, have helped this happen. Last Saturday the Cougars came to South Bend, IN to play Notre Dame.
The Columbus - South Bend trip takes about seven hours to drive, and David decided that was as close as his alma matre's team would be coming, so he made plans months ago to be there. Daughter Anna went, too, and she never even attended BYU, though she has an uncle who's on the faculty. Maybe I should nominate her, too.
Late November in the Midwest can be brutally cold, and that was the couple's misfortune. The temperature was under thirty, and the wind made it feel like the teens. Snow flurries flew from time to time as well. It must have felt like an icicle through the heart, and it only got worse as the game dragged on. They stayed to the end, which by then required lights to see.
It wasn't a bad game as these things go, but the home town Irish got the win, leaving nothing for the two of them to do but point the car back towards home. I'd hate to guess how long it took to regain feeling in all their appendages, but they made it back, no doubt thankful that growing up in Idaho and Iowa probably aided their ability to withstand pain in this academic Antarctica. We can only hope that next year's schedule allows a November trip to somewhere a bit more human-friendly, like Shreveport or Mobile.
posted by Mark at 3:30 PM
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