There was a time not so long ago that anything that even resembled a legitimate sporting event in town was circled in red on my calendar. I would anticipate it for days, exhort people to attend even get a little frustrated or angry if they had no interest. I wanted so badly to live in an engaged, legitimate sports city.
I guess I’ve surrendered or something. I got a late-afternoon text message from a co-worker asking, “Hey, isn’t the the LSU basketball game tonight?” I answered, “Um, is it? Maybe. Yeah.” It turns out the rare North Louisiana LSU appearance was just a couple of hours away. I had to talk myself and, somewhat more challenging, my wife into driving across the river to go to the game. I suppose everything you need to know about it can be summed up by this: We bought tickets about five minutes before tip-off and scored these seats.
Ultimately, I said to her, “If I don’t go to that game, I will feel like a huge hypocrite.” So, to the arena we went and we really had a good time. The game was entertaining. LSU’s opponent, Wichita State, hit a big three-pointer with seven seconds left to win by a point.
The crowd, though somewhat small, was enthusiastic. We won a $50.00 gift certificate from LSU’s on-line sports shop, so if you add up the cost of tickets, concessions and gasoline we just about broke even on the evening.
We are well acquainted with a number of current LSU students, all of whom are home for the holidays and none of whom attended the game. That confuses and slightly saddens me. But since I had to convince myself to go, I guess it’s best if I keep my mouth shut about that. Nobody like a holiday hypocrite.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Hoopy Holidays
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
My Future Son-in-Law
My daughter went all "Beatles on Sullivan" tonight during the American Idols Live! show. She got close enough to David Archuletta to touch him. "My pictures are terrible because I was shaking so much," she said, trembling. Truly, I have never seen her this excited. It's really out of character for her, but she has been charged up about Archuletta since he first rose to prominence on the show. She has been referring to him as "my future husband" for months. It's plausible, I guess. He's just a year older than she is. On the way home from the show, I asked her if he would be allowed to sing at their wedding. She said, "Of course. We'll sing a duet. It will be so sweet!" I'm glad she enjoyed the show.
I went with her, my wife and mother-in-law. The show was nice in a bubble gum kind of way, a perfectly pleasant way to spend a Tuesday evening. 
My favorite Idol contestant, Brooke White, performed exactly as you would expect, right down to coming onstage in bare feet. My wife got her fix of Michael Johns and my mother-in-law just enjoyed the music. My wife, daughter and I agreed that we actually knew every song that was performed in the show, and that made it easy to enjoy.
The headliner was the 2008 winner, David Cook, who finished off the evening with a rock vibe.
The biggest surprise of the night for me was Kristi Lee Cook. I had noticed her on the show, but in person she is just stunning. With her amazing looks and a little more work on her vocals, she has the potential to be a real star, I think.
My daughter may be up all night. She was just babbling. My favorite line came moments after she returned from her close encounter with her "fiance." She said, "I had to elbow my way past a bunch of ten-year-olds."
Now, I guess we have a wedding to plan.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
The Sweet Taste of Victory
We spent Friday evening at the Lovely Bossier City Facility watching our Arena Football team defeat the team from Corpus Christi, 66-55. Home Team quarterback Gary Cooper accounted for eight touchdowns, six passing and two running.
The defense intercepted three passes. That tells you a little something about the nature of Arena football: Your defense can pick off three passes and still give up 55 points. I guess that's why you need to score 66. You can also read a lot into the fact that Our Guys had a 26 point lead but won by just eleven. It's a kooky game, but it's fun to call on the radio. Off to Houston next week.
