So many sporting events, so little time
It’s well-documented how much I despise winter. To me, it’s too long between the time the World Series ends and Opening Day. Football is great, and I loves me some college basketball, but those things are just placeholders in my life - no sports season feels as complete to me as baseball season. I’m lost without baseball.
However, every year I begrudgingly accept the fact that winter has to happen, and try to manage. This weekend might have been the most perfect solution to the problem of winter. . . I went to a hockey game on Friday, watched football in a bar on Saturday, went to another hockey game after that, and went to a Nebraska basketball game today.
1. Hockey game #1: I had never been to a hockey game above the level of junior high roller hockey before. I grew up in a tiny town that’s pretty far from everywhere, so I never really had access to hockey. But now…I just want more of it.
2. Husker football: Without bars, I’d never be able to see a Nebraska Pay-per-view game. No way I can pay 30+ bucks to watch on TV; a ticket to attend Husker home games is significantly cheaper than that.
But luckily, I did have a place to watch the Huskers pound Kansas State on Saturday afternoon. I have this seething dislike for K-State that only grows every year, especially their quarterback Josh Freeman, who committed to Nebraska first before leaving for Manhattan. So I was grateful to be able to see my Huskers mount a 56-28 win.
And then, what a game it was. NU quarterback Joe Ganz might be the manliest man to ever be a man. He rushed for 95 yards yesterday, in addition to passing for 270 which put him over 3,000 for the season. Two of his rushes were into the endzone…if the Big XII weren’t so ridiculously stacked with great talent at QB, Ganz would certainly be the focus of more conversations at the national level. I panicked internally when he threw a pick on the first drive that K-State returned 57 yards for a touchdown. Bad start, right? But Ganz and the Huskers recovered quite nicely.
And my, oh my, did Roy Helu Jr. have a great game. He rushed for 72 yards and two more highlight reel-worthy touchdowns. He’s my new favorite Husker, for sure.
My brothers and I wondered if there was a special free admission for K-State fans who dressed up as empty bleachers. The Wildcats drew a pathetic 48,444 fans to this game, and most of them left around halftime. I haven’t ever met a “good” Kansas State fan, but I know a ton of people who root for them when things are going well. Just saying.
3. Hockey game #2: My first hockey fight. Wooo!
4. Nebrasketball!: The thing - the ONE thing - that I absolutely love in the winter is Nebraska basketball. Today was the first regulation game of this season, and it was…well…at least Nebraska won. I like this description from the Huskers.com writeup:
While Nebraska shot poorly, San Jose State didn’t fare much better.
Yikes. But true. The Huskers really looked awful in parts of the game, like the first eight minutes of the 2nd half. What struck me is how none of the upperclassmen stood out; they all sort of blended together instead of stepping up as the new team leaders. The only player who did himself any favors was freshman Toney McCray, who aaaaaalmost pulled off a double-double but ended one rebound shy. Those 9 boards and his 17 points both led the team.
Even though the team played an uninspiring game, I’m still thrilled that it is basketball season again. I’d love for the Huskers to burst forth and surprise everyone with an awesome team, but I don’t think it will happen. But that doesn’t mean you won’t find me in the bleachers of the Bob Devany Center every home game!
If it HAS to be winter, I guess that means I HAVE to be at sporting events. I can deal with that.