Go Gators!

Yes, odd and possibly reprehensible as it may seem, I do love to watch American football. Never got a chance to play it, though I've played quite a few other team sports. But I grew up watching football (and baseball, and basketball) with my Dad, a true fanatic, not just a fan. And somehow life is not complete without occasionally plopping my butt down in front of a TV and screaming my lungs out for the team of my choice (complete with animadversions on bad refereeing and commentary on questionable coaching decisions). Obnoxious of me, I know.

So it filled my heart with glee that the University of Florida defeated Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship game in Atlanta yesterday. The majority of football "scholars" thought the Crimson Tide (i.e. Alabama) would roll over the Gators (i.e. Florida), but I always believed the Gators could win. Which does not mean I watched the game live. If I have a superstition, it's that if I watch a team I really care about play in real time, they're likely to lose. I kept well away from temptation by going to my favorite cafe, which doesn't have a TV set. But I admit I checked on the score when I thought the game must be over, and found the Gators were winning. Just as well I didn't watch, though, since as late as the end of the third quarter Alabama was ahead and seemed to be pulling away, so my blood pressure would have been sky-high and the volume of my yelling considerable! I know my faults.

I watched this morning, however, when the game was repeated on the Sunshine Channel, and slurped up every precious minute while continuing to deal with holiday preparations, in this case wrapping and packaging. The last parcels that have to be mailed will be taken to the post office tomorrow and Tuesday. My lists of tasks to be completed remain four sheets of legal paper long, and I object, as I always do, to the hustle and bustle imposed upon us by the felt obligation to sustain commercially dictated Yuletide jollity throughout the month of December. And that's nothing compared to the suffering of the poor salespeople and cashiers in department stores and supermarkets, who are subjected to holiday Muzak starting long before Thanksgiving!

Anyway, this Gator fan is a happy clam. I'm sorry that one team has to lose for another to win. Alabama had a perfect season going into the game, and now has to deal with the bitter taste of not winning the conference title and being denied a shot at the national championship. But there's always next year, and Alabama is deep in talent, they'll be in the thick of the hunt again, as, I think, will the Gators. Now I can relax until the Gators' bowl game, which I assume will be the BCS Championship in Miami on January 8th. And I promise not to bore you with football again until at least then!