A Big Football Fan

I admit to being a very big football fan, often loud, rambunctious and oftentimes embarrassing to my husband. As a young teenager, I fell in love with football in high school, as sports was about the only entertainment offered in our small town. My high school football team were the Nicholas County Grizzlies. When I went off to college, I fell in love with a football player and married him. It was so much fun to go to the away games with other football wives and be the only ones in the crowd rooting on our husbands---we had to be loud to be heard. Our college team was the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears. After graduation, we moved to Morgantown, West Virginia so that Dick could get his masters degree and we went to the games and rooted for Dick's brother who played for the West Virginia University Mountaineers, and are still loyal fans.

After graduating from WVU, Dick got work in Pittsburgh, where I experienced my most embarrassing moment of my life. Pittsburgh was playing the West Virginia Mountaineers (a huge rivalry) at Pittsburgh. Bobby Bowden was the coach. The year was 1970 and a client gave Dick two tickets on the 50-yard line in the middle of the Pittsburgh fans. Of course, being a die-hard WVU fan, there was no way I was going to keep quiet as I watched WVU take the lead 35-7 in the first half. In fact, I made such noise that I definitely irritated the fans around me and actually had people saying mean things to me, as I yelled and screamed to root the WVU team to victory. But I certainly got my come-uppance in the second half. Pittsburgh came out and actually won the game 36-35 in the second half and the fans around me certainly gave me back my own medicine. I slunk down in the seats and tried to slip out of the game as quickly as possible!!! In Dick's words, "you almost got us killed."

While in Pittsburgh, we began attending the Pittsburgh Steelers games and fell in love with them. In the 70s we loved the "Steel Curtain." We still follow the Steelers as totally loyal fans. In 1974, we moved to Hawaii, and got season tickets to watch the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and still remain faithful fans.

We are having a fantastic football year this year. Hawaii is 10-0, with their quarterback, Colt Brennan, looked at as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. West Virginia Mountaineers are having a great season at 9-1 and 5th place in the polls, with their quarterback, Pat White, also as a possible Heisman Trophy candidate. The Pittsburgh Steelers are going great guns this year and remaining in the top 5 teams of the NFL. How good can it get!

I have to remind myself often that football is a game. It is not to be the center of my focus, or the highlight of my life. It is not an area where I should blow my "gentle and quiet spirit" that is of "great worth in God's sight." It's not an area where I should lose my cool and act like a fool to others. It is just a game-------isn't it?

Go Warriors! Go Mountaineers! Go Steelers!
Sandy