This Saturday, Ohio State will play Michigan in football. When you "love" something or someone, you wind up placing a lot of thought, emotion, and loyalty toward them. I have been an Ohio State fan since about 1982. Growing up in Ohio, most of us root for our home teams. OSU is the only large football school in the state, the only one in the national picture every year. Growing up in a football county (Stark County - home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and much of football's grass roots including Paul Brown, the Massillon Tigers, and the Canton Bulldogs), I have always loved to follow, watch, and play football.
While I usually challenge people on how "flippantly" we use the word "love".... I do use the word personally. I do love Ohio State football. I root for, support, follow, study, preach, and talk Ohio State football.
This morning, Jennie was sick, and so I brought Allie into Daycare today. Since it is Ohio State vs. Michigan week, I dressed Allie up in her Ohio State shirt, her Ohio State socks, and her Ohio State windbreaker. She also wore blue jeans and a diaper, in case you were wondering. I was so proud to bring her in with that outfit on, and walked her around the hallways to show everybody.
After I dropped her off, I went to work. I suppose I should let you know that our church hosts the daycare, so I work in the same building that Allie plays in all day.
Just a half hour ago, the door to my office opens slowly.
My beautiful daughter Allie walks in.
But something
is very
different.
My face froze in shock, amazement, frustration, and love....
Someone in the daycare or church staff had dressed Allie up in Maize and Blue.
For those of you who do not know, those are the colors of Michigan. NOT the colors of Ohio.
These are colors I swore never to put on any of my children. These are colors that symbolize the evil regime up north. These are the colors more fit to be seen on toilet paper than on children's clothing.
In that moment, I was really stunned. I didn't know what to do.
Here I am, senior pastor of a church... leader of a staff... and someone has dressed my daugher up in the garb of the enemy.
What would you do?
I have always "loved" Ohio State. (No, not "Love" in the God-sense or the family-sense.. you know what I mean.)
As a result, I have always "hated" Michigan. (No, not "hate" in the sinful sense where you condemn people. Again, you know what I mean.)
In a sports sense, this was still an emotional moment for me. Makes me love Ohio State even more. Makes me love my daughter even more. Makes me hate Michigan even more.
Any suggestions on how I could or should retaliate?
Meanwhile, I have this huge confidence that the best kind of retaliation happens on the field. Ohio State is 3-1 against Michigan since Jim Tressel arrived as head coach of the Buckeyes. It's a tough rivalry and anything can happen, but I think Ohio State is going to win.
My prediction: Ohio State 35, Michigan 13.
5 comments:
i suggest you teach your daughter a lesson.
take her back into the daycare. ask for the person who dressed your daughter that way. then, take a knife and cut the arm (not off, but not merely a scratch either) of the person who transgressed your family.
as the blood flows out of the person's arm, simply use it as an illustration for your daughter. simply state, "look allie, when a person is alive, their blood is scarlet (like Ohio State), that means they have life in them."
mend the person's wound, but if they refuse to repent, strangle them and then show allie the blood under their skin in the veins. "look allie, when someone is full of death, their blood is blue (just like michigan.)
some might think this a bit extreme. but this is your daughter we are talking about. she needs to know the truth.
by the way, is this the offseason that loyd carr gets fired because "he can't seem to beat osu"?
Personally - I don't get into this stuff a whole lot. Someone said to me - the game is this weekend. I knew what game they were talking about, but then they asked me what time it was - and on what day. I had no idea.
You've probably heard these before but, they're pretty funny. We've had a ton of them being e-mailed around the office. I say this as apathetically as possible - Go Buckeyes!
A very rich man, on his deathbed calls his 3 sons together and says: “ I want to give each of you a gift, anything you want, remember money is no object.” The oldest son wanted a Lamborghini his day gave him 7 Lamborghinis, one for each day, in a different color. The 2nd son wanted a motor cycle his dad gave him 365 motorcycles of the most expensive brands and a team of technicians to keep them in repair. The 3rd son, age 8 and all excited about his recent trip to Disneyland, wanted a Mickey Mouse Outfit. Dad bought him the University of Michigan…….
A teacher in a 1st grade classroom asked her students a question one day. She asked everyone who was a Buckeye fan to raise their hand. Everyone in the room except one little boy raised his hand. The teacher said "young man, if you're not a Buckeye fan, what are you?" The young man said "I'm a Notre Dame fan!" The teacher then asked why. The young man replied "well, my dad is a ND fan, my mom is a ND fan, so I'm a ND fan!" The teacher then said, "Well, that is not an excuse to be a ND fan! If your mom was a moron and your dad was a moron, would that make you a moron?" The young man laughed and said to his teacher, "No, it would make me a Michigan fan!"
A Nebraska guy, an OHIO guy and a Michigan guy are walking on the beach and find a Genie lamp. The Genie says they each get one wish. The Neb. fan wishes his state would have fertile soil for corn to grow, and just like that, Nebraska has more corn than ever. The Michigan guy says, “I would like to put a giant wall around my whole state, so no one else can get in, and we can live in peace.” Just like that, Michigan has a giant wall around it. The Genie says to the Ohio guy what is your wish? He replies, "Tell me more about this wall." The Genie says, "It is 50 ft. high and 10 ft. thick, nothing can get in or out of it." The Ohio guy says, "Fill it up with water!!!" GO BUCKS.
How do you get a Michigan alumni off your front porch? Pay him for the pizza!
A family of Michigan football supporters head out to do some shopping. The son picks up an OSU jersey and tells his mother he’s decided to become a Buckeye fan and wants this for Christmas. The mother, upset, whacks him on the head and says Go see your father! Off he goes with the OSU jersey in hand to find his dad. Dad? I've decided I'm going to be an OSU fan and want this jersey for Christmas. The father is outraged, whacks his son on the head and says No son of mine will ever be seen in THAT! On they way home the father says I hope you learned something today. The son says Yes, I have. What is it? I've only been a Buckeye fan for an hour and I already hate you Michigan idiots.
A stockbroker, on his way home from work in Columbus, came to a dead halt in traffic and thought to himself, "Wow, this seems much worse than usual." He notices a police officer walking between the lines of stopped cars. The officer replies, "Lloyd Carr is depressed, so he stopped the team bus and is threatening to douse himself in gasoline and set himself on fire. He is tired of losing to Ohio State every year and the university has cut back on his recruiting budget. We're taking up a collection for him." The stockbroker asks, "How much have you got so far?" The officer replies, "About 75 gallons, but a lot of folks are still siphoning."
Some friends came to visit us in Dublin and commented that it sure was windy in Ohio. We had to explain that it's really not very windy at all in Ohio it's just that Michigan sucks so badly.
A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and says, "Wanna hear a Michigan joke?" The guy next to him replies, "Well before you tell that joke, you should know something. I'm 6' tall, 200 lbs., and I am a Michigan alumni. The guy sitting next to me is 6 ' 2" tall, weighs 225, and he's a Michigan alumni. The fella next to him is 6 ' 5" tall, weighs 250, and he's a Michigan alumni. Now, you still wanna tell that joke?" The first guy says, "NAH, not if I'm gonna have to explain it THREE times."
great work josh!
gar, great game like that and no update within 48 hours?
Sure dude. Buckeyes win. I have the flu. I'll post more about it later. It was a great, historic, and emotional win for the Buckeyes.
Michigan sucks! You would think that the shame of being a Michigan fan would be pain and retaliation enough for the poor soul who did that to your daughter. But it's not. Pile on, lay it on thick, overdo it, and so overwhelm them with revenge that they dare not cross you again. Michigan sucks! Again!!
To follow up on Danny2's comments about what their colors represent...Maize is the color of liquid waste that always ends up in the toilet (unless you're from Michigan, in which case it ends up in a dirt hole).
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