A Good Day for Football

Yesterday morning demonstrated I have much to learn about college football. First thing, I turned on the TV to set the DVR to record the Georgia game. But I couldn't find it anywhere.

"It's not playing on TV," Stephen said. "It's not a good enough game."

Fair enough. So then I started searching for it on Pay Per View. That's when the sticker shock hit me:"Thirty four dollars? Jesus Christ! That's ridiculous!" I screamed. "Who'd pay thirty four dollars to watch the Bulldogs play the Chanticleers?"

"Why don't you to go Coach's Corner?" Stephen asked. "They're bound to be playing the game there. Or maybe the Wilmington Island Club."

Then Lawson got up."Lawson, do you want to go to the Wilmington Island Club to watch the Georgia game with me?"

"No," he said. "I'd rather watch it here."

"Oh, but do you  know how much it costs to watch it on Pay Per View?" I asked, arms akimbo, nodding with that omniscient parental nod that I've gotten pretty good at.

He turned to face me. "'Thirty four dollars? Jesus Christ! That's ridiculous!' I know, Mom. I bet the whole neighborhood knows by now."

Okay, so maybe I should have sticker shock with my inside voice.

Turns out the manager at the Wilmington Island Club wasn't interested in forking over thirty four bucks to watch it either.

I get the logic of playing the game on Pay Per View, but I don't understand the logic of the price. I can watch a big game, like Georgia vs LSU for free, but if I want to watch a little game, I have to go to the ATM first. It seems to me Comcast would get more takers if they asked customers to cough up five bucks instead of thirty-five. But that's just me.

But know I know this: not only do I have to learn the rules of the game. I also have to learn the rules of cable sportscasting.

Nevertheless, yesterday was a great day for football, and here's why:

• Georgia Won:  Big time. No surprise, though. See my previous post about the Chanticleers*. 
• Notre Dame Won!: Woo hoo! Now, I don't really follow the Irish that closely, but I can't remember when they won a game. And they beat Michigan State  too! Big rivalry. So I am happy not only for Notre Dame, but also for my dear friends Beth Howells and Nylce Prada Myers, devoted Notre Dame fans. Last night was a good night for them. 
• Clemson beat Auburn! Wow! Now, it's not that I'm so anti-Auburn. I have several friends who are Auburn alums, so I mean no disrespect to them, but if the Tigers are going to play the Tigers, I have to go with, well, the Tigers. After all, one of my football mentors, former football star Mike Gasque quarterbacked for Clemson during their championship year. If he's going to teach me the ways of the game, the least I can do is root for his team.  
• BC Won!: Last night Stephen and I joined Kelley and David and Michael and Shelley at Memorial Stadium to watch what the football announcers called Georgia's oldest football rivalry. I'm not going to do any fact checking on that; instead, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that the BC Cadets put a hurtin' on Savannah High School.

So there you go. I'm feeling pretty good about how I kept up with four different football games in one day. But I also realize I have to pull my notes out from last year. I've already forgotten what a nickel back and a dime back are because half the time, I'm trying to keep up with where the ball is. One of these days, someone will figure out how to put that yellow first down line on the field during a high school football game. Next weekend when Georgia plays Ole Miss, I'll have my notebook with me again.

*Nota Bene: Regarding my last post about the Chanticleers, I was rather snarky about the team's coach. Thanks to my friend and former football star Mike Gasque, I now know that Coastal Carolina's football team has only been around a couple of years or so, so they haven't even developed callouses on their feet yet. So I'll back off some. Still, I think they should reconsider the name of their team.