I assumed my favorite MSU football viewing position, lying down on my side directly in front of our living room's Samsung flat screen television, and watched with great pleasure the first half of MSU's pummeling of the Iowa Hawkeyes. I was thrilled to see the Spartans jump all over the Hawkeyes from the get-go, and play with a focus and determination certainly not seen in last year's game.
At halftime, I drove over to OfficeMax to pick up some school supplies for my son, and arrived home in time to, unfortunately, suffer though most of the third quarter. I'm sorry folks, but when James Vandenberg made the long pass completion to Marvin McNutt, setting up Iowa's second touchdown of the quarter, I about lost it. I said, F@$k this sh*t! and went out to rake leaves. I know, I'm a bad fan. Oh me of little faith.
I felt as if I'd seen this script before. MSU gets off to a big lead in Iowa City and blows it. Once agin, me of little faith. I was having flashbacks of all the times Hayden Fry's bunch delivered heartbreakers to the Spartans (1985, 1986, 1996 to name a few), and those heartbreakers and ass kickings of more recent vintage (2007, 2009, 2010). I needed to work off some steam in a manor more constructive than sending my foot through my precious Samsung TV.
When I came back inside, about 2 minutes remained in the game. Kirk Cousins and the offense were in "victory formation". I could breathe easier.
A Spartan football win always puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day and sets the tone for the entire weekend. Sad but true that the outcome of a relatively meaningless athletic contest between 18-22 year olds, the outcome of which I have no control, can either make me giddy or depressed for the remainder of the weekend. I'm 43 years old, for God's sake--you'd think in my advanced age I'd have acquired the wisdom and perspective to be over this sort of silliness.
With the Spartans getting a huge win on the road--and in Iowa City, a place where they'd lost seven straight--I am now free to enjoy the next week. I can watch other college football games and not care too much about the outcome. I can read the "Blue Wall" Detroit sportswriters and laugh at their commentaries, I can peruse the Red Cedar Message Board and look forward to Sunday morning, when I will pour over the Lansing State Journal sports section and count down the minutes until the "dean of mid-Michigan sports" (ha!) Tim Staudt comes on with his local Sunday morning sports show. And I know that I need not avoid sports talk radio in the upcoming week, but can embrace it.
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