Saturday, December 30, 2006

Something to get excited about

It’s not really a secret that since I’ve been back in the States life has been a little less, shall we say, “thrilling” than it was while I was in Australia. I’m at home with the folks (hence the lack of blogging due to stone age dial-up) and it’s cold outside, so mainly I’ve been watching DVDs of Veronica Mars Season 2 and going to see movies. Other than that, I’ve been bored out of my mind with not much to look forward to except moving back to Virginia to start real law school again. Oh, I’m sorry, did I say “look forward to”? I meant “dread like the plague.”

Something happened this morning to change all that. No, I didn’t get a sudden urge to read case law again; I learned what many of you no doubt already know – my once beloved Florida Gators are in the NCAA national championship game!! I can’t believe how out of touch I have become. There was a time, not so long ago in fact, that I would have known the starting line-up, the key plays, and what the team ate for breakfast. During football season, whether my team won or lost would dictate my mood for the following week. I even had anxiety dreams about them losing games.

That’s when I decided that I needed a break from the action. Luckily this coincided with a new coach and my entering law school, so my removal from the collegiate football arena was without much withdrawal. Even though I wasn’t “hardcore” anymore, I still vaguely kept up with the important games against FSU and UGA and vaguely knew the top 10 teams.

In Australia, reading the sports page didn’t even register a blip on my radar, I’m sad to say. (Actually, this is not entirely true. I just remembered that I did check the scores during the UGA game.) When you have invested months of time and hope in a team, it makes the win a little more meaningful – I remember being on a high for days after the 1996 National Championship win against FSU (which was a re-match – FSU was undefeated, UF had only lost one game – to FSU in the season’s last contest…but I digress).

This year I’m more like a bandwagon-er than a faithful fan, but nonetheless, I’m going to make a date to watch the game and cheer on my Gators. I might even wear blue and orange. (Do I own any orange clothes anymore??) Of course I’m hoping they win, but even if they don’t, having something to get my heart racing, to look forward to, is welcome back present enough. Now if I could just figure out what to do on New Year’s Eve…

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm shocked that you didn't know about your Gators! If I were a better friend I would have certainly kept you up!

While I am in no way a Gator fan, I will be cheering for them against Ohio State. Gotta go for the SEC, baby!

Anonymous said...

It's nice to have something to help you get over the culture shock, eh?

Anonymous said...

The Gators have had a GREAT season - and, like Megan, even though I'm a die-hard Dawg fan, I'll be cheering on Urban Meyer and the Gators for a win - the SEC is overdue for a national championship!