The Morning After...Thoughts and Reflections

I LOVE football! I suppose because I was raised around it. My family all loves it. When I married, DH was also a football fan. And while I do love NFL, I really love college ball. It's just so...different than the NFL.

I am not a "one team" college football fan...although most of the time you'll find me rooting for Florida State University. Because I was born in Ohio and lived in a family of rabid OSU Buckeye fans, I think I've always been a Buckeye too.

DH is a Gator fan. It's always been fun when UF plays FSU. Actually, our house is divided pretty much in half. I have two sons who love UF and two that sit on "my" FSU couch during that game. And, while I say I am a Seminole fan, I "could" be swayed to root for the Gators in other settings (especially under their current coach).

While I now realize that I could be swayed sometimes, I KNOW I have always had Buckeye scarlet and gray in my bones. I've known the OSU fight song since I was in preschool. We had the album of "The Best #@*! Band in the Land playing all their songs when I was a kid.
I was there when my Dad decorated his house for the OSU/Michigan game. I remember watching Woody Hayes coach and Archie Griffin play. I've been to the campus, the bookstore, and know who Brutus is.

Last night, a whole different "division" took place in my house. There was NO WAY I could root for Florida. I thought for sure that OSU had this thing sewn up...in the back pocket. And the opening play pretty much made me cock my feathers and say, "Yeah, you Gator fans in this house...WHAT WERE you thinking with your orange and blue?"

Then, piece by piece, bit by bit, my faith turned to sheer doubt! By halftime I thought, "OK, Tressel, get in there and get your boys fired up! Tell them they need to be there in the second half...to play their hearts out." And it seemed at the beginning of the third quarter that maybe that's what happened. My hopes were shattered though as I watched the Gator defense stop OSU in it's Buckeye tracks.

It was PAINFUL if you are (or were) an OSU fan!! I am happy for the Gators (sorry Dad and all)...they played a good game. They came in and got the job done. I am sorry for the Buckeyes...it wasn't the team that has played this undefeated season.

And when I think to myself, "It's just a game." This game can (and does) put people on an emotional roller coaster. So, where do I stand? I'm a Buckeye Fan who happens to live in Florida...and THAT'S not pretty on a day like today!

But, you have to look to the NFL on a day like today....You see, being a Tampa Bay Buccaneer fan has taught me well....

There's always NEXT season!! Hmmm...maybe college ball isn't THAT different from the NFL after all!!
(Congrats to all you Gator fans out there!)