Live Action

I

hunger to watch live sports. I enjoy screaming and yelling at the top of my lungs to root for my team. Okay, I do this at home or at the bar, but nothing beats yelling at a game that is unfolding beofre your eyes--by the way, the Bruins handled the Owls of Rice University rather handily, 63-21. It was 21-7 at the end of the first quarter and 49-14 at halftime. I almost felt sorry for the Owls... almost. I say this because I know of no fan of an opposing team feeling sorry for us when we've been whooped by a lop-sided score.

Back to the point. I enjoy live sports and hunger for football. My school does not field a football team--I think it's too expensive or something--and I have no team to cheer for. I have been a Redskins fan since the days of George Allen when he was virtually kicked out of LA and he went to lead the Redskins to the Superbowl while the Rams languished as brides maids year in and year out. So I would love to go to a Skins' game but they are sold out and the scalpers sharge a price that is prohibitive for me.

So I yearn to see a game...

And I finally did. I decided to go to a local high school game. The Oakton HS Cougars are ranked in the top ten this year--they were league champs last year--and this past Friday, they played their opener against their rival, Madison. There was a modest crowd of probably 1500 people in atendance--many of them noisy and rowdy students, and I had a surprisingly nice time. I accidentally and fortunately ended up sitting in the middle of a group of Oakton students, and I was able to yell for the home team without embarrassing myself too much. The "adults"--likely parents of the students--were pretty sedate, and if I sat with them, I would have stood out rather awkwardly. M was rather surprised and uncomfortable amongst the high school kids so we ended up leaving at the end of the 3rd quarter, ut we still were able to watch Oakton score 28 points on their way to a 35 to 14 win.

As I was watching, I noticed the running back for the Cougars. He looked like a man among boys--well, big boys, I guess. But there was a noticeable difference. In the program, #1 was identified as Keith Payne, 6'2" 220 lbs. He looked like a college player and he ran and hit like one too. He was awesome. I found out later that he is considered one of the top prospects in Virginia and being sought after by the likes of Notre Dame, Maryland and Virginia Tech.

But I guess that is neither here nor there. I just enjoyed watching a live game for the first time in a long time and it was fun...