A week from today begins probably the most exciting 3 weeks in sports, also known as the NCAA basketball tournament. I love tournament time. It’s so exciting and the energy is unlike any other sporting event. My favorite part is that the games just run one after another for hours on end. Then when a game is over, I run to the brackets posted in the kitchen (always over the microwave) to fill in the winners.
My beloved University of Michigan Wolverines are “on the bubble” to make it to the tourney. They have to win at least 2 (more realistically 3) games to make it in. It’s been 10 years since they made the big dance, so this would be a big achievement for them. I never realized how spoiled I was growing up when Michigan had the fab 5 and made it to the Final Four every year.
Everyone should expect lots of sports-related posts during March Madness. If I’m watching a great game, I’m probably going to write about it.
So I know I’ve been writing about a lot of sports lately with the Tigers going to the World Series and Michigan football being undefeated this season. But it’s important to realize that there is much more to this life than sports.
Lily went to the doctor on Tuesday for a checkup and shots. She’s growing and doing well. She got a flu shot in addition to her other shots and since then has been running a fever. Last night Cassie took her temperature and it was 103.6 degrees. Cassie ended up taking her to urgent care to make sure she was okay. It turns out that she’s got an infection in her throat. She has been irritable and crying for most of the past two days and it’s hard for me as a parent to see her suffer with being really sick for the first time. Cassie was took her back to the doctor today to see what exactly is wrong and how to treat it. I hope she feels better soon and can get back to her normal happy self.
Then today the news broke that legendary Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler passed away of apparent heart failure. As I stated in my last post, I love Michigan football and I have a tremendous respect for Bo. Not only was he a great coach and the savior of the tradition of Michigan football, but he was a great man and a compassionate person. I couldn’t help but grin every time I heard that gravely voice and saw that cocky wry smile that he always had when talking about the team he loved. He never won a national title as a coach, he never coached a Heisman Trophy winner, and he never regretted either of those facts. He won the Big Ten conference 13 times in 21 years as head coach and had a 194-48-5 record. That’s a .796 winning percentage. Basically, he won 80% of the games he coached at the University of Michigan which is remarkable. He will be sorely missed.
I believe that this sad day will serve as an inspiration as the Wolverines take the field tomorrow against the Luckeyes. I thought Michigan would win the game tomorrow before this happened, now I think it’s going to be a bigger victory for the Wolverines.
This Saturday is going to be the biggest Michigan football game in my whole life, and maybe the biggest game in college football history. #1 vs. #2. Michigan vs. Ohio State. The winner of this game is the national champion regardless of what happens on January 8th. And guess who probably won’t be able to watch.
Me.
That’s right, I will (most likely) not be able to watch the biggest game in my lifetime. We are going to be in Chicago this weekend with Cassie’s family. They have a tradition of going to downtown Chicago and eating at the Walnut Room the Saturday before Thanksgiving. This is also when Michigan plays Ohio State every year and I believe I will miss my 4th game in a row this year.
It seems silly to some people when I tell them how much this game and this team means to me. I can’t explain it in a rational way, but I have a devotion to Michigan football that is only trumped by my devotion to God and my family. I’m serious when I say my priorities go 1 - God, 2 - Family, 3 - Michigan football. Now I’m sure that seems messed up to people, but that’s how I’m wired. I am overjoyed when they win and devastated when they lose.
I love my wife and I will be at the Walnut Room with her when Michigan takes the field. But she is going to have to get me one awesome Christmas present to repay me for this one.
So it’s all set up now. The University of Michigan Wolverines are 11-0. The Ohio State Luckeyes are 11-0. The national championship will be decided next Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. I honestly think Michigan is going to come out on top in this one. The Luckeyes haven’t had to fight for anything this whole season. They’ve had one tough game all year against Texas, but they haven’t had to work to win a game since then. Michigan has had to fight low expectations and a tough schedule to get to this point. I guess all the talk will stop at 3:30 next Saturday afternoon.
47-21. Maybe Notre Dame was a little overrated and Michigan is better than people think.