Not A Good Week To Be A Gator

The week ended awesome w another Florida victory. 

I had sat there, on the Boyfriend’s bed, w him snoring peacefully, and me sitting cross-legged and nervously hugging my pillow, watching the closing minutes of the game.  I read once about how you spot a true Florida Gator fan (I cannot take credit for this):  Up by three touchdowns, one minute to go, Gators have possession of the ball, a die-hard Florida fan will still be on the edge of their seat thinking – “somehow, someway, I know we can still lose this game”.  That night, and the post game celebration w the Boyfriend (more on that later), made for a perfect night – a night I want to remember forever.

And this week has been one I would like to forget forever.

The UPS man came into the office and sought me out like he normally does.  He is an Alabama fan so he likes to gloat.

It occurs to me that now might be a good time to pause and explain.  I am a girl that likes sports.  I do not think that odd, but apparently I am something of an exception.  Like I said, it does not seem odd to me because I have always liked sports.  Some of my favorite childhood memories w Daddy are the two of us watching the Gators or the Dolphins together.  And later, when things got rough between Mom and me, sports was something that me and Daddy could talk about.  I remember once when Mom and I had been fighting really bad, Daddy called me into the garage.  I went w an attitude because that’s what I did back then.  He threw my baseball glove at me and asked if I would play catch w him.  I was never on a softball team or anything like that.  Playing catch was just something Daddy had liked to do when I was much younger and he taught me to do it w him.  Those are also special memories.  It had been a few years since we last played catch, so it caught me off guard.  There was no “talk”.  We said very little actually.  We just fell back into enjoying being together.  Daddy can be Andy Griffin smart sometimes.  Maybe because of that, maybe because of some internal genetic wiring, I am a girl that really likes her sports.  I know we cannot be that rare, but you would think I was the only one from the way my girlfriends act.  I say that about my girlfriends and the guys never say a word.

Guys are another reason I really like sports (get your minds out of the gutter).  When Daddy was in the hospital last year (part of the reason for my disappearing act and I will talk more about it someday soon), it was a lonely scary time for me.  Football made it easier.  One time, I was walking the hallways when I passed a group of hospital staff, all men, debating the rankings and who deserved to be in the top four.  I made a remark, I forget what now, intending to just keep walking.  Instead, they got me talking and for thirty minutes I did not feel so alone.  I got to know quite a few people there all from just having football to talk about.  I work w mostly men.  Sports, especially football, is that universal topic I can talk about w almost all of them.  Nobody gets weird thinking I am trying to flirt w them.  Most don’t get caught into trying to impress me w their knowledge. 

Which all circles back to the UPS man coming into my office, I’m thinking to gloat again about Alabama or Nick Saban.  Instead, he asks me what I thought about the news.  “What news”?  I’m thinking he is playing a cruel joke when he tells me about Florida’s quarterback being suspended, so I race to open up Google.  Seconds later, I just want to cry.  And that has been pretty much how I have felt all week.  Something else happens and I just feel like crying.

First, Will Grier is suspended (I will not be commenting on this . . . ever).  Then, Spurrier resigns.  I will always consider him a Gator foremost, no matter where he is at.  And last night, another player was suspended for firing a gun at his pregnant girlfriend.  Not bad enough he had to shoot at his girlfriend . . . he had to shoot at his “pregnant” girlfriend.  C’mon . . . really?!!!

Oh, last thing, my ‘Bama UPS fan really was not trying to upset me.  Aside from the occasional gloating, he is a pretty good guy.  I think he was really just trying to be supportive.  He did not think that I had not heard yet.

The best thing I can say about this week is that it is almost over.