I kinda feel bad
I kinda feel good there are
other fans who feel worse
The last time the University of Michigan football team lost a game was back in 2022.
Until yesterday.
They lost and lost badly to the University of Texas at Austin.
The lost so badly that I felt bad – not bad bad, but downish in a goofy for what it’s all about way, bad.
Back when I was in college one of my roommates was from Ann Arbor and his folks would invite us over to their house for lunch and watch the game on Saturdays when Michigan had an away game.
After a game that saw Michigan lose to Illinois, my roommate’s Mom looked out the window and said that now she wouldn’t be able to read the Sunday Morning papers because they would all, somehow, work the score of the game into any story.
She also said she wasn’t looking forward to church as she knew their Pastor would work the score into his sermon.
She hated losing.
She wasn’t particularly fond of people who ‘lost games’ for Michigan.
I remember watching a game at their house once and Michigan was lining up for a field goal attempt and I said, “I wonder what Bryan Virgil is doing now?”
Mr. Virgil had had a fairly good multi year career for Michigan as a placekicker, except for having a game winning attempt against Notre Dame blocked back in 1979.
There were those who point out that a Notre Dame player jumped up on someone’s back to block the kick (a move that resulted in a new rule the next year) and there were those who claimed Mr. Virgil took too long to get the kick off.
When I wondered out loud what Mr. Virgil was now doing, my roommate’s Mom fired back, “I don’t know, but what ever it is, he is taking 5 steps to do it.”
When Michigan lost yesterday I thought of my roommates Mom.
I thought I don’t want to watch any more football today.
I don’t want to read the papers tomorrow.
And I know that in Church, even here in the low country of South Carolina, where the Pastor is actually a Michigan Fan (a west Michigan native), I will most likely hear about the game from the pulpit.
I puttered around most of the rest of Saturday afternoon.
My wife and I went out to investigate a new used bookstore we had heard about and picked up 4 novels from the Four-for-a-Dollar bin.
We call these beach books as I am reluctant to bring my devices to the beach.
Also I find it refreshing for my eyes to read a printed novel from time to time.
Back home, being Saturday and my day in the kitchen, still feeling a bit blue, I got the out tools and ingredients for the evening hamburgers and fries.
I then turned on the TV.
And I heard, “It’s a stunning loss for Notre Dame and a stunning victory for NIU!”
And I smiled.
I laughed out loud.
I felt good.
Sure Michigan lost to a top 5 team.
But ND was a top 5 team and lost.
Lost to a team from the Mid American Conference.
Not a slam on NIU , just saying.
I felt good that there were football fans who felt worse than I did.
I felt good that Michigan’s loss was not THE college football story for this weekend.
Then for a second, I felt bad.
I felt bad that I felt good that other fans felt worse than I did.
Than I remembered I was thinking about Notre Dame.
And I didn’t feel that bad at all.
Gotta got get ready for church.
No Haiku For You 