Naturally, this left me out of many a Male Trio dinnertime discussion during the Fall months, as they would enthusiastically rehash and analyze the most exciting or important contests of the day amongst themselves. Then Derek chose the University of South Carolina...thereby joining Gamecock Nation, and instantly becoming wholeheartedly invested in his SEC squad's fortunes on the field. (Although to be honest, he and Riley had been following them for quite some time, since Husband's parents actually live in the other Carolina, and had been buying them school-related gear for years. So it wasn't even a little bit of a stretch to become a super-fan...)
And while I of course want the best for Derek's favorite team, and--more importantly--reveled in hearing all about his experiences at Williams-Brice Stadium, attending the actual Saturday afternoon events that comprise the center of campus life from August to November...I still remained more or less an outsider to the...gridiron culture, if you will. My only concession to the...pigskin pandemonium...was that I did like to keep abreast of the headlines on the ESPN website, just so I knew basically what was going on, who some of the best players were, which contenders were doing especially well or poorly, that kind of thing. The way I figured it, at least that way I could participate in a minor way in the family chats, without sounding like a complete ignoramus.
Okay, so that's the ancient history...which brings us to the 2019 National Championship. True to form, Derek was watching with his High School buddies at one of their houses, but it was also showing on our TV as well, with Husband and Riley keeping track of the action. Obviously, at this point I'd never been one to actually sit still for even a quarter of a football game, so I wandered through periodically to check in with the fam and see what was happening on the screen for a few minutes or so. I'd been keeping track in the weeks leading up to the playoffs, enough to know who was competing, and sort of how the experts expected it to go. So, during one of my visits, I noticed by the numbers on the scoreboard that things...didn't seem to be unfolding according to the script I'd studied. And then I happened to witness one of those aforementioned exhilarating touchdown drives by the underdog...you guessed it by now...Clemson Tigers...the execution of which even a casual observer such as myself was able to appreciate.
However, it was when the offense returned triumphantly to their sidelines to be congratulated by the rest of the orange-clad crew, and the quarterback removed his helmet, that my mouth fell open. I remember sputtering, "Um, who's the really tall surfer dude throwing the ball for Clemson?" And that, my friends, is the moment I began paying attention to college football...for real. I think I was honestly mostly fascinated by that QB (aka Trevor Lawrence) because the announcers kept mentioning that he was a "true Freshman" (I'm not kidding, if this had been a drinking game, everyone would have been utterly blitzed--ha!--by halftime. Sorry...). Translated, this meant that he was...Derek's age...and also, incidentally...kind of ridiculously talented. So yeah, it was pretty easy for me to get sucked into that saga.
Clemson of course went on to seal their defeat of perennial powerhouse Alabama and capture the Natty, and then...that was it. I kind of forgot about the whole thing during the Spring and Summer, and everything went back to normal (meaning another season of Orioles suckage, but we don't have to get into that...pretty please...). But then of course August rolled around and it was time for Derek to head back to Columbia for his next semester--stoked to get back into the swing of academia, sure, but even more eager to jump back into South Carolina's tough conference schedule. Aaannnd with the subsequent return of football coverage in the media...I found myself once more...intrigued...by the defending champs. So much so that, for the first time in my life, I found myself voluntarily not only tuning in...but even rooting for the Tigers. (Confession: I did resort to DVR-ing some of the action, so I could skip commercials...and the more boring sections. What can I say? I can't fully change my... stripes--at least not overnight!)
Well, lemme tell ya, this caused quite a stir in Casa WestEnders, folks. Husband admitted bemusedly, "I'm...just not used to you being a football fan." Riley shook his head and chuckled indulgently, presumably at just another example of Mom's idiosyncrasies. But Derek...ah, Derek. At first he was simply aghast...which quickly escalated into indignation at what he deemed my betrayal of his precious Gamecocks. This made for some hilarious Sunday convos, such as the one when he mock angrily reminded me that "You do know that you pay my tuition at their RIVAL school, right?" and then followed this up by loftily informing me that "all of his friends were mad at me too" for my misplaced loyalty.
Eh, I shrugged off his...concerns...by reassuring him that it was most likely just a brief phase that would pass quickly and harmlessly. Yet...as the season marched on, I found myself instead starting to admire the skills of other standout players--and being able to recognize them by their numbers when they were scrambling around the field. (This seemed to cause Derek more distress than any of the previous occurrences, as evidenced by him snapping at me in exasperation, "Seriously, can you even NAME anyone on my team? Jeez, Mom..." Ahem...I believe we can pinpoint this as the exact second when Derek shook his head, threw up his hands, and grudgingly accepted the new reality...)
As for me, I'm not gonna lie, I found this unexpected...hobby...somewhat disconcerting, and yet...also oddly satisfying in a way I can't fully put into words. On second thought, perhaps it's not so difficult to understand--could it have something to do with the potential for bonding with my guys? Um....that's an emphatic YES. You see, around this time Derek apparently decided he'd better just go ahead and lean on into it--so he began treating this like a normal situation, and actually talking to me about it (which was awesome, since he's my undisputed favorite in-house commentator)! This meant that we ended up with texts like this, after the big cats were victorious over the fighting chickens in the fierce Palmetto Bowl, a Thanksgiving Weekend tradition, with the winner claiming SC bragging rights:
Yep, I can't even tell you how pleasing this development was for me. Not only did I now have a previously unexplored topic to toss around with Derek, I'd also gained access to his insightful thinking process and ability to answer my questions and teach me about the game. This, my dears, is the very embodiment of a Win/Win! And to his credit, once he accepted his...new responsibilities...he applied himself to his duties with grace and good humor, such as when he messaged me after the ACC Championship game between Clemson and Virginia:
But I knew we'd really turned some kind of corner when, as the holidays approached, he began proclaiming, in what I assume he meant to be a threatening tone of voice, "I'm gonna buy you a shirt for Christmas...and you'd better wear it!" I think he was laboring under the impression that I'd be, I don't know...embarrassed by this?...but on the contrary, this actually solved a dilemma I'd been having, in which I couldn't bring myself to purchase any Clemson-related swag because, well, as a very recent convert to the fan club, and a non-alumni to boot, I couldn't really claim a valid reason to do so. But if HE happened to provide me with a gift item of apparel, then I really couldn't NOT display it proudly it, right? Whoo hoo--sounds like another of those double-win outcomes, y'all!
And then, all too soon, another season came to a close. A nail-biting victory over Ohio State...a much less favorable result when up against the juggernaut embodied by Joe Burrow and LSU this year...and it was over. But that's okay, because I seem to have officially been welcomed into the Team WestEnders football huddle...and my source for all things sports is on the job keeping me up to date on breaking news:
Oh, and my "surprise" tee finally arrived, so I'll be appropriately attired for ALL THE GAMES in Fall 2020. Speaking of which, according to Clemson's social media (because of course I follow them, duh!) Spring practices start in a short 6 weeks! Hmm, you don't think I need some kind of an intervention, do you? Actually, nah--normally at this time I'd be anticipating pitchers and catchers reporting to Florida and Arizona for Spring Training, but with another futile Os campaign ahead of us, we've gotta have something to look forward to, yeah? Suuurrrre, let's go with that...and I'll keep you posted!
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