How do I love thee, Football?

First things first: Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit! Evil spirits begone from Nutwood! Especially important after yesterday's Satanic revelries, and all those demons in our back yard going at it like...well, rabbits. They sound kind of like cats. Quite disturbing.

Fantastic outcome to the Notre Dame-Washington State game yesterday, with the Irish finally winning handily, 40-14, and saving me another coronary. (Thanks, guys.) The play of the game for me was in the closing seconds of the first half, when Jimmy Clausen threw to Golden Tate in the end zone. Golden had double coverage on him for most of the game, but this time...he had triple coverage. He leaped into the air to make the catch and hung on to get the touchdown. If I recall correctly, I believe my reaction was "OH MY GOD did he just fucking catch that ball?!" Or something to that effect.

Today was the Colts and San Francisco, and although the Colts started off slow and looked flat the entire game, they pulled out the win 18-14 and are one of two teams left in the league with a perfect record (New Orleans is the other one). I know all too well that going unbeaten for a while does not mean you are invincible, but it's still fun to see your team get a winning streak going. Also great to see one of my favorite Colts, Bob Sanders, playing after his injury. He's not a real big guy, but man, he's fierce! The Bears also won, so it's been a good football weekend. Not for everyone, though. My pal Darren's--you know, the cereal killer, haha--Winnipeg team lost. I'm sorry you didn't get a win, too, buddy!

It's on days like this when my heart is filled with love for football. Watching that Golden Tate catch--and I have, several times--gives me incredible joy. If you watch that video, you'll see Clausen gesture for Golden to "c'mere!" and give him a big grin and a hug. When I saw that happen in real time, I was like "Awww!" and got more than a little choked up. I suppose it's silly to get choked up over something like that, but seeing their smiles and such an incredible play just makes me so very happy.

Of course, it can go the other way. When my team loses, I'll spend a few hours in a blue funk. And I've actually gotten better over the years, if you can believe that. When I lived in Indianapolis and was so into the Pacers, my friends and family knew better than to call me after a loss, or even worse, during a game. A friend from Montana called me once during a playoff game, and I said, "Lisa, I can't talk. Watching the game." She laughed. I said, "I'm not kidding. I'll call you back afterwards." This seems natural to me, but then you're talking to someone from a family who gets pissed off if someone plans a wedding or something during a Notre Dame game (and some people have been known to use headphones during such an event).

For anyone who isn't a sports fan, it's hard to explain. But a love of sports is truly the international language. There is something communal in the mutual joy we experience in our love of the game.

Sorry about the long video, but here's one from one of my favorite bands, The Tubes, and my favorite album of theirs, "The Completion Backward Principle." The target song begins around the five-minute mark. Warning: Some of you may be familiar with the Tubes and will know that they are not G-rated. You get the full monty from Fee Waybill in this one!

Gimme a B! Gimme another B!

Cardiac Kids continue

That's what a lot of people have been calling the Notre Dame football team, because the last few games have come down to the last seconds, with Notre Dame winning. Saturday's game against Southern Cal came down to literally (and I use that word correctly) the last second, with Notre Dame having a chance to tie it up and send it into overtime. Alas, this time it was not meant to be, and the Irish lost.

However, even when things looked bleakest, the team never gave up. They fought back to bring the game down to the last second. They showed heart and guts, and for a #25 team taking on a #6 team, I think they did pretty damn good. I would have loved to have seen a different outcome, but I can't fault them for not trying or for giving up. You hung in there, guys, and I am proud of you! It was not a blowout as in previous years, and quarterback Jimmy Clausen had a decent enough game that he is still in the running for the Heisman trophy. As Coach Weis said after the game, "Well, anyone who doesn't realize the fight that's in the Fighting Irish is missing the boat."

By the way, my apologies to any of my readers who happen to be Ohio State fans. I may have gloated a little bit over their loss to Purdue yesterday, but it’s nothing personal. As Big Ten fans (Ken went to Illinois) and with two Indiana teams (Indiana U and Purdue) in the Big Ten, Ohio State is a big rival. They’ve also spanked Notre Dame in the past, so I can’t help but feel a little glee when they lose to an Indiana team. I’m sorry if I made anyone feel sad. :(

I have another reason to be proud of Notre Dame. The board of trustees voted to have Father John Jenkins continue as President of the University. I wrote in the spring about Father Jenkins' and Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to be the commencement speaker. President Obama accepted, which set off a shitstorm of controversy, with hardcore Catholics protesting because of his pro-choice beliefs and policies, and others saying that it was an honor to have the President speak at Notre Dame, and still others, like the bat shit crazy Randall Terry, setting up camp here and resolving to create as much trouble as possible. The speech went off without a hitch, and Father Jenkins also gave a wonderful speech; the senior class elected him Senior Class Fellow in support of him and his decision. At the time, many called for, if not his head, his resignation or firing. Jenkins prevailed, and the board of trustees gave him a great vote of confidence in electing him to another five-year term.

At heart, the issue was about whether Notre Dame would adhere to strict Catholic policies and rhetoric and keep those policies as its sole identity, or include part of its identity as a premier University for education and research. Father Jenkins has been much more liberal than the hierarchy would like, understanding that while Notre Dame can retain its Catholic identity, it also needs to embrace cutting edge technology, education, and inclusiveness. Father Jenkins is still pro-life; but instead of banning the current President because of his beliefs, he welcomed him as a beginning to discussion and dialogue. I supported Father Jenkins then, and I support him now. I'm not a Catholic, and my feelings about the religion are moot. I applaud Father Jenkins for standing up to church hierarchy, saying that it is a good thing to discuss rather than ignore, and I applaud the board of trustees for continuing his tenure as President.

~~~~~

Change of subject. I'm sure you all know how easy it is to misspeak, to really put your foot in your mouth. One of my most memorable was when our friends Kim and Steve were visiting us in 2007. Steve and I were sitting at the table, and I was talking about what I was going to make for dinner that night. I had recently made couscous, and I was just curious whether or not they liked it, so I asked Steve, "Do you guys like couscous?" He said, "Yeah, it's okay." I said, "Well, I'm not making that tonight."

????

Steve cracked up, and I was left wondering why such a stupid remark came out of my mouth. We had a good laugh about it, and a few months later, I sent Kim and Steve a nicely packaged box with a packet of couscous in it...they said they got another big laugh out of it, so it was all good, and we still chuckle about it. I think it was just a matter of my brain working faster than my mouth. My thought process was perfectly clear to me, but I left out a couple of things that would have provided context for Steve.

Okay, it's easy enough to misspeak...but what about when you're typing? I had another memorable moment recently when chatting online with a friend. We were talking about movies, and I mentioned a couple that it's kind of embarrassing to admit that I like, but I can't help it. (Regular readers will know that they are "Road House" and "Dirty Dancing.") I called them my "dirty pleasure" movies.

I think I even wrote it a couple of times. I was writing and I wrote it more than once. Then I wrote, wait...that doesn't sound right. What is that phrase? He informed me that I meant "guilty pleasure" movies.

And I thought it was embarrassing to admit to liking those movies.

So I can add that to my list of things I'll never live down.

I jinxed myself

Some of you may have seen that Notre Dame won the game against Michigan State yesterday, 33-30. Whew, it was a heart-stopper! I even called my Dad afterwards to ask if he was doing okay, because I sure wasn't! Their offense looked good, especially Jimmy Clausen who really seems to be coming into his own this year. He's stronger and tougher, and seems to be reading the defense much better. He's also getting better protection than he has in the past couple of years, so it's giving him time to find a receiver. I'm afraid we've lost our best receiver, Michael Floyd, though, possibly for the year--broken clavicle. Their penalties almost did them in, and I hope they work on that this week. I thought they used the clock better, although MSU was threatening right at the end and could have won it, if not for a very timely interception by Kyle McCarthy. I believe that saved them the game, and was THE play of the game. (The NBC analysts agreed with me.)

I was very encouraged by yesterday's game. No, I still don't think they're contenders for a national championship. I'm a realist, remember? But they looked better than they have for a while, and they had a toughness that has also been missing.

Next week it's Purdue, and the week after that, Washington. We have tickets for the latter game, and I hope for more nice weather for tailgating and the game!

That's enough football for the day--at least here on the blog! I have games on now, we'll be watching the Bears later this afternoon, and the Colts play tomorrow night. Ooooo, football! It makes me as happy as a little girl!

On Friday, our friend Rebecca had had it with a couple of trolls, and brought down some righteous smackdown. In my comment, I mentioned that I hadn't had any anonymous trolls for a while, and damn if I didn't jinx myself! One of the bottom-feeding lurkers felt the need to weigh in with their oh-so-wise thoughts concerning my opinion on gay marriage. A little problem with their insistence that marriage is traditionally a religious institution, though, since marriage is a government entity. You can get married in any church that you want, but if it's not filed with your local government and with your state, you aren't legally married. Silly Anon. Nothing from them so far today. I'm guessing they're at church, scrambling frantically to find a way to foil the dirty homersexticals' (thanks David!) plot to take over the country with their gay marriages and gay agenda.

As always, if they have such a strong opinion, perhaps they should get their own blog and write about it there, rather then inject their ridiculous argument into mine. I won't bother you, I promise. You have the right to be as narrow-minded and judgmental as you want to be; if you choose to do it here, I have the right to call you out on it. As always, it's amusing to see an Anonymous commenter try to stand up for their convictions...but I guess those convictions aren't quite strong enough to attach their name to them. Go figure!

Over on my sidebar, you'll see the "tag" I made for I Stand Corrected (the tag is also linked). It is a blog created by Lori of Dusty Pages, and Guido of Atlantic Lines is also a contributor. So am I, and you all know how much I love words and word origins; I also love good grammar, and appropriate usage. I'm far from perfect when it comes to writing, but I always like to learn, and I Stand Corrected is a fun way to do that. I hope to contribute a little more often to it, because I do enjoy writing on it, and Lori tells me that she is working on an entry for it herself. Stop by if you get a chance. If you want to out yourself as a word geek, you'll be welcome there!

A very happy day for Irish fans!

Boy howdy, did we ever have fun today!

Dad got here a little before 10 am--I said, "Someone is a little excited!"--and we visited a little, then got the truck loaded up and headed out. We had almost no problems getting up to campus and getting parked. We kicked back and did a little tailgating, had some sandwiches and beverages, and enjoyed the beautiful day. Everyone was having fun, and it's always fun to chat with other fans. People were as cool as could be, and we encountered no one that was obnoxious or disorderly. Come to think of it, I don't think we've ever encountered anyone like that, at least not at the games we've gone to.

Cousin Shane found us, then fellow blogger Doug found Shane--it was great to meet Doug!--and then it was getting time to head over to the Stadium. We took the shuttle over and found our seats with about a half an hour before kickoff.

It was a perfect day for football...a little on the warm side, but it was a little overcast, with a pleasant breeze. The sun set behind us, so we were in shade for most of the second half.

As for the game, it was better than we'd hoped. Notre Dame got its first shut-out of the Charlie Weis era, beating the Nevada Wolfpack 35-0! We got to see some great touchdowns (five of them, as a matter of fact), and things are looking up for this season. They still have some work to do, including working on their running game and clamping down on the run defense, but quarterback Jimmy Clausen was fantastic. 315 yards, 15 for 18 completions, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. We've been saying for two years now that he's got the talent and potential, and I think this could be his year.

I was so pleased to be there with Dad and to see such a good win! It was also a great game for Shane's first game, and he said he had a great time. Of course, it's always fun to be there with my hubby! I think I might be a little sunburned, and I know I'm going to sleep well tonight! Oh, I didn't run into my friend Jimi, but I did see my friend Felicia (from the lab), who works a souvenir booth to raise money for her kids' school. It was so much fun to see her, and I miss talking with her at the lab! She's such a sweetie.

I'm still working on videos, but here's a slideshow. In the picture of the four of us, I know I look three sheets to the wind, but I swear to God I wasn't! It was a little bright, and I took my sunglasses off for the picture.

Now it's on to the cookout tomorrow. Hope you're all having a fun weekend!