Growing up, we all remember how we felt on Christmas Eve. The excitement for the festivities, butterflies for the choir performance at the candlelight service and the anticipation of what Santa might bring. Everyone reluctantly went to bed. Each of us tossed and turned dreaming of the spoils without sleeping a wink. Very few things in life can bundle so many emotions into one single day. The eve of the Ohio State v. Michigan football game wraps so much into twenty-four hours.
To me, the day before the Ohio State/Michigan game is much like the day before Christmas. I am nervous and excited all day. I want it to come faster yet go slower all at once. The anticipation hurts. The eve of the big game drags on like an ambitious transvestite. Every free thought is consumed by The Game. Questions haunt your already spinning mind. Did you make enough wings for the tailgate? Have you brought enough clothing to battle the numbing November air? Could Michigan really spoil our season? You help pass the time by listening to the carols of the season. A few rounds of "Across the Field" and "Hang on Sloopy" makes it more bearable.
For as much tension and anxiety that courses through me during this last 24 hours, I really don't want it to speed by. Maybe I enjoy the shots of adrenalin that rush through my body when I consider the opposing team. Maybe I like the mystery that masks the final score. Maybe I know its the last game of the regular season, the start of an Ohio State Football drought that will only be teased with the sprinkle of a bowl game. Maybe its because I know that my grandfather and my father, both OSU Alumni, dealt with this same dilemma through the course of their lives. For whatever reason, this year I am going to drink in the tradition, the tension, and the theatrics. I am not going to hide, hating the emotion as the moment flies by. This year, I will savor The Game, win or lose. (And it better be win!)
6 comments:
I hear Dan is doing good. I hope he is ready to fend for himself by Saturday, otherwise I think he is out of luck while the game is on.
This states the feeling well. It's during this week more than any other that I wish that I still lived in my hometown of Columbus. There is no place on earth like it during that week before THE game.
Mark Daniels
I love the way you describe things! You even make football sound great. lol
Hope you guys have fun today!! Go Bucks!!
And now to let the cat out of the bag. All growing up Dan was a Michigan fan. Infact it was not until Kristi, that Dan gave up the Maze and Blue. I hope Dan is still welcome at his in-laws, but dirty secrets are fun to share.
Buck the Fuckeyes
Post a Comment