Saturday, September 4, 2010

college football

dana point, ca

i remember returning from namibia almost six years (six years!) back and talking with my sister after being away for a year. she recalled a conversation she had with my mom in which she was afraid that i was going to come back 'weird'. my mom responded that i already was 'weird'. i'm sure my sister assented. she told me later that she thought about it further and decided that i would be able to reimmerse myself into america after being away so far for so long. one of the first things she mentioned was college football.

it is no exaggeration to say that the sport has had as great an influence on my life as anything, certain people excepted. since my mom worked for the airline, i grew up attending home games at the university of washington even though we lived in denver. there must have been something about the absurdity of tens of thousands painting their faces and chests, full marching bands oomping and swaying, the deafening roar of stomping feet and hoarse throats seeking to get just one decibel higher for a key third down that appealed to me then just as it does now. it didn't hurt that i came of age in the heyday of colorado's program and that there is nothing, absolutely nothing so compelling as a great game.

but the influence went further. for one, there may not be a better way to inculcate your child about the benefits of higher education than to imbed in them a passion for college athletics. even before i had my first pimple or cracking of my voice, i knew i was going to go to college. how else was i supposed to go to the games? on a deeper level, i'm convinced my love of travel and maps and exploration is owed in no small part to the game. each team was introduced by their iconic helmets which then sparked a curiosity into what was that place called michigan? why is that stadium so big in tennessee? where is that place called clemson?

a famous quotation has it that all journeys begin with a single step. i would add that a single question can be just as powerful. i know a lot of them came from all those years listening to keith jackson, sitting in the stands at the rose bowl, or just crossing my fingers when the buffs needed a big play.


and now the one that most of my bloggership will have no interest in reading: predictions
an undefeated iowa will surprise oklahoma to win the national championship.

the best actual team is probably in the sec, but no one will be strong enough to go undefeated. a two-loss auburn will defeat georgia twice this year. the first game will be with yours truly in attendance. the second will be the sec championship game.

the big ten will flash a surprising amount of depth. the matchups between ohio st/penn st/wisconsin/iowa will be perfect for october. michigan will be relevant this year.

colorado will go a respectable 9-4, including a victory in the holiday bowl. they will also beat nebraska.

florida will lose 3-4 games, including to florida state.

pittsburgh will win the big east.

oregon will win the pac-10 thanks to a win over a much improved and resurrected washington team.

miami, virginia tech, and florida state will be the only relevant teams from the acc, but they will all have out-of-conference losses.

notre dame will become prominent again and i will be cheering against them every step of the way.

tcu and boise state just might go undefeated this year and i will still have absolutely zero interest in seeing them in the title game. even if it gets us closer to a playoff.




Thursday, September 2, 2010

san francisco

san francisco, california

i'm on vacation and, frankly, the air's not right for blogging. let it just be said that the past few days have entailed several lost staring contests with the pacific, some witnessed bongo sessions in the park, rehashing with an old friend over dark and stormys, catching up with another while avoiding the ice, a flute player in the street, some tagging on the 38 bus, a bento box, and several hills notched into the belt.

above all, this city has inspired me to take more photos of brooklyn and new york city over the next 6-9 months. i'll blow them up so that they can be displayed prominently in my first apartment in san francisco.