Super Bowl Sunday

8 February 2026:

My grief for my father hits me in strange ways sometimes. 

This evening, after a quiet but good day of getting lots of work done and feeling fine (even good!), I find myself tearing up. 

It’s Super Bowl Sunday. I don’t really care about football and won’t be watching the game. But I started thinking about how my mom and dad watched every year, sometimes hosting my siblings and sometimes going over to their houses. I would sometimes call and do the whole “phone passed around” thing. 

And he’s not there this year. 

I felt similarly on New Year’s Eve, though it resonated in a different way. I thought, “This is my first New Year’s Eve without my dad being alive.” And I have so many memories of New Year’s Eves in the past. 

Again, what do I care about the Super Bowl? Why am I crying about him missing get-togethers that I never went to? That he and my mom usually left by halftime? I know the answers are right there and not very deep. Because he’s gone and it’s really hard and sad. 

(My mom told me yesterday that Chris and Jennifer—bless them!—were going to come by the house, bring some food, and watch the first half there.)

Keeping track

16 May 2017: "I think they have to be cataloged. Look, every touchdown seems like every other and we catalog those. This is important and it's far more important." --S.L. Price on this week's episode of Hang Up and Listen, talking about his articles on two players from the 1972 Miami Dolphins team who are experiencing cognitive decline.

This was a fascinating interview to listen to. Price's point above struck me as especially poignant. So many football enthusiasts spend so much time studying every little thing during the game, but seem reluctant to spend time on what happens to the players after the game.

Scorigami

13 December 2016: Look, I don't much care for football, but I loved learning about "Scorigami" on this week's Hang Up and Listen podcast. So much fun!

Go Rams!

Despite my complicated feelings about football, I am so proud of these guys. GO RAMS!

Remember October?

Well, it's almost December and I am just now getting around to posting some pictures from late October. Sorry about that. Anyway, they're from a visit my parents made one weekend. The first few are from a Shepherd football game in which the Rams crushed their opponents.


Just one action shot this time since I figured you got your fill of my football photography with this post from last year.


The halftime show was kind of fun, especially for my dad. It was Gloria Estefan-themed and he's a big fan. I'm only posting this one shot, because the blond singer on the right was in my class last year and she's pretty darn good.


My parents at the game. Now you might be wondering why they aren't sitting next to each other, but the actual reason is kind of sweet. It was pretty sunny that day (with the sun to our backs) and my mom made my dad sit in front of her so she could shade him a bit (he needs to be very careful in the sun).


This excited me very much: I finally got to see Livingstone, our mascot. I don't know why he's hiding his face, but check out those horns!

The next day, my sister Erin drove over to Martinsburg and then we all headed to Charles Town Races and Slots. None of us had been there before, but I'd heard a lot about it from students and Shannon, who is a big fan. We all enjoyed it--but wouldn't make a habit of going. We bet on a lot of the horses (small bets--don't worry) and weren't all that successful.


Erin and I picked this horse because we thought he was the prettiest. He lost.


We picked this one, too, almost certainly because of his name (I can't remember what it was now). Most of our picks were based on the horse's name. Not a good strategy. He lost, too.


Ummm...so did this one.

My dad gave my mom, Erin, and I some money to go play the slot machines. We burned through it almost immediately and then went back to find my dad again. We returned just in time to see that he had picked a winner!


Here he is with the winning ticket. Don't get too excited--he won $1.80 on his $2.o0 bet. Still--it was pretty exciting.

The Patriots are winners after all...in Nicaragua.

My friend Amber and I used to joke/wonder what happened to all those shirts and hats teams had printed up in anticipation of wins in championships they ended up losing. For instance, I once posited, "Some little kids in Africa are going to be running around wearing NY Yankees, 2001 World Series Champions t-shirts." (That one still hurts a bit.)

Well, here's some confirmation of that theory.

Famous authors predict the winner of tomorrow's game...

Very funny stuff.

Shepherd Football Game

As I mentioned previously, my parents visited me a couple of weekends ago. We decided to check out a Shepherd football game since my dad loves the game, Shepherd's been doing really well lately, and I have a number of students who are on the team. It was a fun afternoon, especially since the Shepherd Rams beat the West Liberty Hilltoppers, 38-21.

Some photos from the day:


The field before the game started. We had had a lot of rain the week before--and you can already see where it's getting muddy. By the end of the first few plays, it was really getting torn up--and the players were filthy.


A pretty shot of the autumn trees surrounding the field.


The folks settling in for the game.


The cheerleaders doing some pre-game cheers. I have a couple of students who are cheerleaders, so it was fun to see them doing their thing. I do have to say, though, that those are some skimpy outfits they are wearing. I wouldn't like that if I were their mother. (Yikes--that makes me sound old.)


The Rams take the field.


Lined up and ready to go!


Action shot! See how muddy they are? (Especially the other team in their white uniforms!)


Action shot #2! (It was actually hard to get decent shots of things happening--because they happened so fast and because I had a hard time following the football.)


Rough stuff!


Here's a shot of one my students about to punt the ball.


I call this one "Muddy Action" because, well, they are all so muddy.


Touchdown! (You can tell because #52 looks so happy.)


I couldn't help myself, but these guys in the yellow shirts made me laugh. In my mind, I called them the "ball wipers," because, well...that's what they were. They ran up and down the field, wiping off the muddy balls. I hope they are well-paid.


The ram mascot visited the stands. I think he's just a bit scary. Apparently there is also an actual living-breathing ram named Livingston, but I haven't seen him yet.


Finally, I thought I'd include a couple of shots from the "Ram Band's" half-time show. This season they are featuring songs from Rent, which I thought was pretty cool. (A strange juxtaposition, though--a football game and a musical about young Bohemian artists! Gotta love the great combinations you get on college campuses!) I have a number of students in the band and in the Color Guard, so it was cool to see them doing their thing, too.


One last shot: this is our new President, Dr. Suzanne Shipley, doing the "Tango: Maureen" (from Rent) with a member of the Color Guard. Dr. Shipley had just been inaugurated the day before and the entire week celebrated that fact. I've only met Dr. Shipley a couple of times, but it seems like she'll make a great President for Shepherd.

All in all, the game was a lot of fun. As a faculty member, I have two free passes for every home game (for all the teams). I think I'll definitely take in more games. After all, basketball season is just starting!