Well, it has been quite a week of football, with many ups ... and ultimately a big "down." All of our friends and family are aware we've been following Mizzou's storybook football season with a great deal of interest, and it has been a great ride. From the euphoric highs of last week's victory over KU to clinch the Big-12 Northern Division title ... to the depression associated with the loss against OU last night.
Tonight all the bowl game match-ups have been announced. But I was thinking that what I'll take away from this week is the memory of watching my son become fascinated with the game of football. The change in his interest has been noticeable to be sure. I've taken him to plenty of NU games in his first 5.5 years on the planet, and he's been around my marching band and the North High football team on numerous occasions. However it was not until Kristen started getting the entire household psyched for the MU vs. KU game that his interest really peaked. Maybe it was Kristen playing the Mizzou fight song over, and over, and over, and over again in the car.
Last Saturday night (the night of the MU vs KU game), I put the kids to bed to insure that Kristen wouldn't have to miss a single play of the game on TV. As I was leaving Miles' room he said, "Dad, can you please record the game on TV so I can watch it tomorrow?" This really surprised me, but I agreed, and sure enough the next day he watched significant chunks of the game. When he got up the next morning the first thing he said was, "Did the Tigers win?"
Miles was so excited about Mizzou being named #1 in the polls this week that he started creating imaginary football plays in our living room. At one point he asked Kristen if he could make MU and KU football helmets out of paper. He made a full set, and alternated lining them up like chess pieces on the living room floor with wearing them himself and running plays around the furniture.
As the Big-12 title game approached against Oklahoma, Miles wanted to find the state of Oklahoma on the map. He asks questions like, "Which team's stadium will the game be in? (I had to try to explain in was actually in Texas ... which prompted another trip to the map for a quick geography lesson).
Kristen and I had been invited to a Christmas party last night at the home of some friends from church, so Miles and Emery were at home - and put to bed - by a sitter. But Miles had made me promise that I would record the game so he could watch it on Sunday. When we got home last night, while Kristen was driving the sitter home, Miles got up and came to find me. This is very unusual for him; he hardly ever gets up. Half-asleep he asked me, "How did the Tigers do?" I shared the bad news, and waited to see what his reaction would be. He rubbed his eyes and said, "Maybe I should make Oklahoma helmets tomorrow." Ah, the innocence of youth.
Even with this new found interest in following football, Miles doesn't exactly understand how the rankings work, and how watching a recording of a game has a bearing on "up to date" information. At breakfast this morning, I think Miles could tell Kristen was a little down about the Tiger's loss. Miles began to watch the recording of the game while Kristen and I were getting dressed for church. At one point he came into our room and said, "Mom! Dad! There is NOTHING to worry about. Even though the Tiger's lost to Oklahoma, they are STILL #1. I just saw it on the TV. There is still a "1" next to their name!" Kristen and I looked at each other, smiled, and told Miles how much we appreciated him letting us know. It was really cute.
Today he continued to show an interest in football, but turned his attention to the Bears. While watching portions of the Bears game he wrote down the names of at least 20 football teams in a book Kristen had bought him with blank pages. It is so fun to watch ...
I read a quote in the Columbia Tribune this week. Someone at the Tiger's pep-rally this week was quoted as saying, "It's a great time to be a Tiger." I agree. It was also a great week to be around Miles.
