FIRST FOOTBALL COOKOUT

Despite the sour faces, it was pretty sweet having my two girls at the football cookout Saturday morning. Hot dogs and beans for breakfast is an acquired taste, for sure, but typically not lip-pursing. Not sure what was going on here. Cute, though!

This was Zoe's first introduction to a decades-old family tradition. And it was nice to see the next generation of Section 6 dwellers hanging out together in the Pioneer High School parking lot. This is Zoe playing a little football with second cousins Emily and Zachary (and their dad, Rick):

Mostly, Zoe spent the morning pulling Dziadzia around by the finger:

They visited the high school tennis tournament being played nearby (clapping along with the girls' families after each point) and climbed some steps (over and over and over... which is the case with most things worth doing once).

Sonja and Zoe packed up and headed home before game time. Sonja because she'd rather have her fingernails pulled out one at a time than sit through a football game. Zoe because Daddy isn't quite ready to be a daddy during a U-M game. Selfish? Yep.

I've been thinking about when I'll take Zoe into the stadium since Emily and Zachary became wily veterans. And I do plan to get her hooked very young, for equally selfish reasons: I need somebody to sit with me into old age, because my lovely wife won't (unless the weather is nice and she can bring a book)!

SIX THOUSAND WORDS...

Nothing worse than a blog that never changes. A blah blog, if you will. Sorry.

Since there truly isn't much to say, we're left with two options: 1) Photos, or; 2) Interpretive dance. Since The Busia or The Chicken Dance probably can't be defined as interpretive dance, photos are really the only choice. So here we go:

Zoe has been practicing her sitting skills pretty hard. It's still best if mom and dad stay close by to avoid bumps on the head:

She couldn't bear to watch the fourth quarter of the Ohio State game:

Dad didn't like it much, either, but getting home in time for a big ol' bowl of sweet potatoes makes everything better:

And then Busia and Dziadzia helped Zoe brush up on her reading skills.

After a Thanksgiving trip to Bay City, we can officially switch our attention to Zoe's upcoming first Christmas. She already has the proper attire.

JUST WIN, BABY

It's 1-0! Boy, is she gonna look silly in that thing when she's 10.

THE OUTFIT (without visual proof)

It's 3:17 a.m. and I just got home from work. (Well, 17 hours of work followed by one hour and 17 minutes of play. I'm such a slacker.)

Regardless of my whereabouts... the U-M vs. MSU game kicks off in nine hours. That's Week 5 of the college football season, and if you've been paying attention you know I'm supposed to have a story this week. (Refer to the "Hail to the Victors Valiant" post below if you're not sure what I'm talking about.) So I guess I'll tell the story and add the photo later.

Allow me to take you back to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30. I was sitting in Michigan Stadium watching the U-M vs. MSU football game. The Spartans led, 27-10. It was cold and drizzly and miserable. Sonja was home, three months pregnant. I envied her.

Fast forward to Garrett Rivas' field goal with approximately seven minutes left in the game. You can choose to believe this, or not, but I swear on my love of Zoe this cell phone conversation occurred:

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sonja. Do me a favor and hit 'Record' on TiVo. I want to save the greatest comeback in Michigan football history."

"Aren't they losing really bad?"

"Yeah." (Momentary silence while I registered that Sonja was actually watching the game) "It wouldn't be the greatest comeback in Michigan football history if they weren't losing really bad."
She recorded it. Sparty fans that don't remember what happened next can stop by and watch any time: U-M recovers an on-side kick and Chad Henne hits Braylon Edwards for a 36-yard TD pass with 6:12 left. After a defensive stop, Henne hits Edwards again with 2:59 left to tie the game, 27-27.

MSU misses a long field goal into the wind to end regulation. The kick never had a chance. Too many former St. Hyacinth students in section 6 praying for it to fall short.

Three overtimes later, Henne hits Edwards again -- is Jaren Hayes really still trying to cover him? -- for the game-winning touchdown.

Great stuff.

The next portion of the story requires some background: Each season, I typically purchase a new game day hat and game day t-shirt. Some hats and t-shirts are magical and deserve royal treatment, like the 1997 national championship set that still hangs in a special place today. Others suffer a few losses and are retired with dignity.

Following this particular miraculous comeback, we passed a vendor's booth on the way back to our cars. I needed something for the kid, I decided. A good luck charm purchased on the most lucky of days.

There was only one option: a gray and blue sweatsuit for a 6-month-old. When my dad and I returned home, I pulled the sweatsuit out of the bag to show Sonja.

"Check it out," I said, holding the sweatsuit up proudly. "I got the baby something."

"Ohhh. That's nice," Sonja said, sweetly trying to match my enthusiasm, although she would still be carrying our child for another five months.

"But what if it's a girl?" she added.

Hmmmm. I'd never even comtemplated the sex of the child. My main goal was to purchase an item that would serve as a good luck charm for the foreseeable future. A gray sweatsuit turned out to be my only option.

Then I stepped back and soaked in my surroundings. There was my lovely, child-carrying wife decked out in her finest evening wear: gray t-shirt and gray sweatpants.

"If it's a girl," I said, looking her up and down. "She'll look just like her mommy."

That's my story. Today, I just hope Zoe and her magical sweatsuit (which we'll photograph Saturday) are lucky.

HAIL TO THE VICTORS VALIANT

Is it Saturday yet?

Can't wait until the day I can take Zoe into Michigan Stadium for the first time. I wonder if she'll be any less enamored with the place than I was. I remember my first trip vividly. It was 1976 vs. Navy. Band Day. A 71-14 win. But it's the color (a sea of maize and blue surrounding the green field) and the smell (an odd mix of cigar smoke and popcorn) and the sounds (100,000 people singing along with the marching band) that I remember best and still crave twenty-nine years later. There's nothing quite like slowly walking through the dank cement tunnel beneath Section 6 and soaking in the sight and scent and sound that expands before you with every step.

Is it Saturday yet?

Dig Zoe's outfit? It's a hand-me-down from cousin Emily, I believe. Her momma has promised me she'll wear it for at least an hour on each of the first four game days. If she doesn't, and U-M loses... we might not speak until next football season. Must avoid jinxes. At all costs.

There's another outfit awaiting Week 5. And there's a good story that goes along with it. Until then... GO BLUE!

By the way, I'm pretty sure this is Zoe's favorite player. They're roughly the same height...

BRUSH WITH GREATNESS

This is as close as Zoe could get to Jennie Ritter this evening at the celebration welcoming the national champion Michigan softball team back to Ann Arbor. Much bigger girls kept pushing daddy out of the way.



She did get a chance to hang out in the dugout with mom. We even found a softball that dad thought would make a nice addition to the photo. Mom, on the other hand, wouldn't let "that dirty old thing" anywhere near Zoe's cute outfit.

Hopefully mom realizes Zoe will get a little dirty at some point between now and hoisting the 2025 national championship trophy.