The list of (first world, trivial) things Covid-19 has taken from us seems to never end. Races, vacations, the ability to go to the office. Seeing other people. Hugs. In-person church. Not feeling like every venture out is like navigating the cave in the Goonies and NEVER EVER getting to One-Eyed Willie's ship. We have tried to be grateful for the time this has given us together, tried not to be (too) whiny, tried to take stock of our blessing.
But this latest...
My husband, former high school, college and semi-pro player and former high school coach, may never recover.
They cancelled football.
If you haven't heard, the Big 10 called it today. And while we completely agree- this is the safest course of action for a high-contact sport in a global pandemic where infection rates continue to rise... ouch.
And yes, we know that collegiate football has, to put it mildly, some issues (to pay/not pay players, ridiculous coach salaries, suspect involvement by boosters, a crummy track record regarding the rights, dignity and safety of women, competition with academics for funding, concerns over player safety and long-term health, hyper-masculine cultural toxicity, to name just a few). All overdue to be addressed, although some progress in some areas has been made, and all can likely be overcome with effort. Despite the drawbacks...
Sometimes you just want to watch a game.
In a year where its been confirmed that neither of us are travelling anywhere for anything, there are a lot of open Saturdays in the fall where we could have taken out our angst at the world by watching Michigan (my alma mater). We could have railed at the inexplicable behavior of Jim Harbaugh, hoped this might FINALLY be our year against the Buckeyes, and hated green for just one weekend. We could have had our annual debate about spending our anniversary attending a bowl game. We could have constantly evaluated what bowl Michigan had a shot at and then ultimately debated if we really wanted to drive to East Bedfordshireville to attend the Tire Shine Bloaty Bowl sponsored by Ice Cream Sandwiches.
Instead, I may have to call in air support or at least convince Eric to rewatch all those old VHS tapes of Falcon Little League. Fortunately, I have the Incline to fall back on (hopefully not literally), although I would have liked to watch, but this is like cancelling Christmas for him.
He is threatening to drive to Florence to watch the prison team's games.
This is the fault of the virus (as well those who refuse to take this virus seriously) and the need to keep students, student-athletes, and fans safe. No one should die or fall seriously ill for sport. Michigan and the Big 10 made the right decision.
Until the pigskin flies again, and forever:
Go. Blue.
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