Football Preview

Today was Brother's Spring football game at Peru State College.  Conveniently, the date of his Spring game is always on the same day as the Huskers' Spring game, forcing me to choose between supporting family and supporting my alma mater.

Family wins.  Every time.

A fun thing about Brother's football stadium is that they don't have a pet policy.  In fact, dogs are welcomed there.  I'm pretty sure that Memorial Stadium would never consider such a policy.

So, I packed up Harper, and we headed to Peru.  She really is a good passenger.

My parents absolutely love spending time with their grand-dog, and they delight in having her around:

It's hard to evaluate the performance of the team, since Peru's Spring game (like most) was merely a scrimmage.  Brother played for most, if not all of the game.

At least I think he did.  I'm afraid that I may have spent more time watching this little monster than I spent watching football.

She's cute, no?

A Day Without Laughter is a Day Wasted.

Today was a good day filled with random things that made me laugh and/or smile.

I started my grad class for the semester, and it seems like it is going to be a good one.  My teacher started out by showing us this video, which carried a message that I needed to hear:

The assignments for this class actually seem like they might be fun.  I'll post some of them when I finish.

~~~

I took a meal off from my diet and splurged for a Sbarro lunch:

It was totally worth the 750 calories.

Probably.

~~~

One of my friends posted a picture of her fortune cookie fortune, and it made me literally laugh out loud:

Usually, poor grammar saddens my heart, but this is just plain funny.

~~~

Our class got out at 2:00, which allowed me some time to work out take a nap.  In one of my nap dreams, the Chicago Bears beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Super Bowl.  I must be really excited for tomorrow's Bears game.  Truth be told, though, I'm a little nervous about having to play the Packers.  They are on a bit of a hot streak at the moment.

~~~

I invited Ashley and Jeremy to go to a late movie.  Except this is what is happening in our region right now:

When they came over to pick me up, we eventually decided that we didn't particularly want to attempt downtown parking and then walk several blocks through snow in the middle of a pseudo-blizzard.  So we settled for watching a movie at my place.

Except I didn't have popcorn.

So, we set out to Hy-Vee to get some.

On the way, we slid through an intersection and narrowly escaped hitting a light pole.  It was mildly scary for a few seconds.

On our way into Hy-Vee, Ashley tripped over the curb, and, well...

she face-planted into the snow.

When we got inside, she realized she didn't have her phone, so we sent Jeremy back out to try to find it in the snow.  He did, and all was well.

**Note:  the above picture is not of Ashley.  Unfortunately, my camera was at home being charged.  Luckily, Google images had a suitable stand-in.**

I still feel a little bit lot guilty that my instant reaction when it happened was to say, "Don't move," as I reached for my camera.  I now know that I definitely should have first asked if she was OK or tried to help her up.

My bad, Ashley.

All that for a stupid bag of delicious, buttery popcorn.

When we got home, we didn't even watch a movie.  We watched an episode of House and some Food Network shows.

Meanwhile, Jeremy figured out how to start a fire in my fireplace!

I have lived here for two-and-a-half years, and have never taken the time to figure out how to do that.

We sat back for all of about two minutes to enjoy the fire:

Until I decided that I didn't want to pay for the pilot light to stay lit.

I am not confident that I could single-handedly get that thing going again, but I am glad to know that I know someone who can help me should I decide that I want to enjoy a fire.

Thanks anyway, Jeremy!  I appreciate all that you do for me.

~~~

And that, my friends, was my random but happy Saturday!

Horned Frogs?

Saturday was largely devoted to the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs.

We allowed ourselves to sleep in a little bit since we almost never get to sleep in on Saturdays.  We grabbed hotel breakfast, and then Uncle Jim picked us up to head toward campus.

TCU is an absolutely beautiful campus.  In fact, if I had expanded my college search to Texas seven years ago, I'm fairly certain that it would have been a top contender.

I would have had a hard time buying in to the fact that this ugly thing was the mascot of my alma mater:

Fun Fact:  Did you know that the horned frog is actually a lizard?

Anyway, after a free lunch of hot dogs, popcorn, and soda (no, I did not eat a hot dog), we headed for the stadium, which was also very beautiful.

It was certainly no Memorial Stadium, but it did have many similar features:

A tunnel walk:

A big screen (although, not nearly as big as ours):

People running around with flags:

We happened to attend the game where they allow kids to run onto the field with the players:

Soon enough, it was game time:

And we got to see Coach Plager in action:

After being down 14-0, we finally scored a touchdown.

This little machine sounded like a train whistle and went off whenever TCU scored:

When TCU scores, it is customary to hold up this symbol:

Although the game was very close for a while (a little too close for comfort, it you ask me), TCU came out on top:

After the win, they allowed the student section to storm the field:

They even had a fireworks display, but we didn't stay to watch.

We were very hungry for dinner, and my dear friends were kind enough to allow me the pleasure of eating here:

What I wouldn't give to have easy access to this whenever I wanted it:

After dinner, we went back to our hotel to get ready for the concert...

My Other Favorite Football Team

I was probably one of the very few Nebraskans who didn't wear red today.

I wore blue.  Actually, gray with blue writing.

As much as it pains me to not wear red in support of my alma mater, I am proud to put on my blue and gray to support my brother, who plays football for Peru State College.  Today, my parents and I went to watch him play.

Brother is #72.

He is listed on the roster as being 6'2" and 310 pounds.  He's an offensive lineman.  More specifically, he's a right tackle.

The movie The Blind Side explains the significance of the role of the left tackle - the team's best pass blocker.  The left tackle is credited for protecting the quarterback's blind side as he throws the ball.

The right tackle (which is what Brother is) is usually the team's best run blocker.

Most running plays are towards the strong side (the side with the tight end) of the offensive line. Consequently, the right tackle will face the defending team's best run stoppers.

He must be able to gain traction in his blocks so that the running back can find a hole through which to run.

I am happy to report that Brother blocked very well today.

I very much enjoyed the time that I got to spend with my family...

Unfortunately, the Bobcats did not win today.  But I always appreciate the good sportsmanship that is displayed during and after a defeat.  Brother has always been really good at sportsmanship.  I love watching how encouraging he is to his teammates on the sidelines and on the field.

After the game, we learned that Brother sustained a bit of an injury.

He took a helmet to the forearm, which caused him to lose his ability to grip and squeeze for a while, but he claimed that it was starting to feel better.  The trainers wrapped it with ice to reduce the swelling of a lump that had appeared.

Despite the loss, Brother agreed to take some pictures with his fan club...

I love you, Brother.  And I love watching you play the game that you love so much.

Go Bobcats!