Like a booster flush with NIL money eagerly eyeing the transfer portal, we, too, at somanystadiums are already looking forward to the upcoming college football season. As you can tell, we have made some small tweaks to the site format. Hopefully, the cleaner look is easier to review the site on your phone. It is just the start, btw. More changes are coming up in the next month or two. So while it is the slow season in college football, come back to the site often. We have more changes coming.
While game times are not out, games schedules are. It is a little early to finalize the season planning, but it is spring and that means it is time to plant the seeds. As I started to mention possible sites for next season to my wife, she immediately reminded me that we have a fall family wedding to attend. And, it was made very clear to me that attendance was mandatory. There is an upside to such a sacrifice in that the following weekend’s game will almost certainly have no restrictions. West coast trip anyone?
We are not getting any younger
The off season has had its ups and downs. We have moved back to our favorite state on the east coast. It is nice to be back in Virginia and it has the added bonus of now including two schools I still need to visit in JMU and Liberty. On the flip side, we are continuing to live out of boxes as we build what will hopefully be the last house we own. Until that is done, all my memorabilia is stowed away, which is a bit of a drag.
The real disappointment is coming to the realization that I am not getting any younger. My runs and bike rides are getting slower. Worse yet, I pulled a hamstring in the “senior” softball league despite doing two hours of yoga a week in the offseason.
However, the worse part of getting old is that you start to lose your friends. I had a couple of football friends pass away this spring. I met Chris Ellis the summer before my freshman year of college football. Chris played with my brother in high school and guided me through my first season of college football, providing encouragement and sound advice at practice. My sophomore year, we lived together with five other guys in a townhouse. What I remember most was how Chris and his then girlfriend and future wife Gina were such a great couple – supportive and fun-loving. They helped me understand what an adult relationship was supposed to be. While I hadn’t talked to Chris in years, I had been looking forward to reaching out to him now that we were back on the east coast. I was shocked and dismayed when I saw Gina’s note that Chris had passed away.
Likewise, I had met Karen Mallow Cook my freshman year at the Hurst. She was a cheerleader, but I met her first in the library’s Writing Center where we were both tutors.. We traveled in the same circle of friends and she dated one of my roommates for quite awhile. We were good friends. Though I hadn’t seen her since my wedding, she didn’t hesitate to get together a couple of years ago when I was checking out Wisconsin. Thanks to Karen and her wonderful family, my friend Doug and I had an epic weekend with them. Reconnecting with her was so easy, it was like we were back in the library laughing away. Learning of her death was heartbreaking.
Chris and Karen were great people – smart, funny and kind-hearted. The world was a better place with them in it. Rest in Peace my friends.
