Watching Grown Men Cry

Earlier this week, I mentioned doing a countdown of top Vanderbilt meltdowns. We'll save that idea for another time, but turning in my order form today for NCAA Regional and Super Regional tickets got me thinking about a game that would have to be near the top of that list: Vanderbilt (baseball) vs. Michigan, 2007. On the positive side, I was in the bleachers the night--I think it was the Austin Peay game?--we first did the black and gold cheer, and that's one of my all-time best VU sports memories. Laugh all you want, but I literally had goose bumps when that started. And...that's the only positive I can take from Vanderbilt hosting the regional. I'll never forget everyone realizing that Price was coming in to pitch after starting earlier that weekend, and I'm guessing but pretty darn sure that was his first relief appearance of the season. I'll also never forget the way I felt when Alan Oaks, a pinch hitter for Michigan batting .188, hit the homer off of our star. Apparently, Oaks' parents were also in the stands that night--no disrespect to Alan, but I have to believe they were as surprised as the rest of us. After the game ended and we were all in complete shock, I FINALLY left the stadium and walked to my car. As I opened the door, I noticed the 60ish year old man sitting in the driver's seat of the car next to me was sobbing. If I were to see this occurrence any other day, I'd find it very strange to see a grown man almost uncontrollably crying in his car. However, on that Monday night it wasn't strange at all--in fact, I felt the exact same way. There's a name for the feeling--it's called being a Vanderbilt fan.

To end on a positive note, we found out yesterday that John, Festus, and Jeffrey are all returning next season! There will be more excitement (and expectations) for this team than any I've followed since 1998. I think this could finally be THE year for us! (And then that voice creeps in my head saying, this could also be the year that a #1 seed loses to a ....) Nope, I'm not going to say it. Come next March, I will not be crying uncontrollably in my car.

Black and Gold Game Report: Dores Win!

When I clicked submit on my first post last week, I thought this blog might be kind of a one-and-done deal. After all, it is about Vanderbilt sports, and what better representation of the one-and-done concept than our men's basketball team? Ok, maybe that was low, but after spending an absurd amount of money to watch them lose in person in the NCAA tourney twice, I have a right to be bitter. But...back to the subject at hand. Since the feedback I received last week was suprisingly positive (and encouragingly so!), I'm going to continue. The only real criticism I received was from my friend Mary, who said make it shorter, post more often, and include pictures. Since I have no pictures to include this week and nothing I write is concise, I'll take her advice and blog more often.

I went to my first Black and Gold game last night. I know, I'm a diehard fan--why haven't I been out there the past 12 years?? Well, I don't have a good excuse except to say the idea of watching the black team play the gold team never really appealed to me. What I was so clearly missing all this time was that when Vanderbilt scrimmages, Vanderbilt wins!! It was wondrous. You sat in the stadium feeling positive and optimistic without any of those normal thoughts creeping into your head. You know, the "what can we possibly do to lose this 4th quarter lead, where will the disastrous fumble occur, when will the punt be blocked and returned for a TD"--those thoughts. All Vanderbilt fans have them. They even celebrated the victory with fireworks! It's a tenuous relationship that Dudley Field and I have, but last night was by far the least stressful that place has ever been. No fights with opposing team's fans, no throwing full water bottles in the direction of other people out of anger after a loss, no .... (actually, I'll stop right there, since I have done the aforementioned things. This way, you will still think highly of me.)

For those of you who are reading and actually want to learn something, I'll share my favorite moments from the scrimmage:

1) The walk-on QB John Townsley. Who doesn't love a walk-on? And who isn't waiting for him to go into Neyland Stadium and win the game for us? Hey, a girl can dream.
2) The enthusiasm that James Franklin has brought to this program. The estimated attendance was 8000 and people were there EARLY and were wearing black and gold. Believe it or not, there was excitement about Vanderbilt football.
3) The fact that there was no calling of the hogs, barking of the dogs, or other SEC traditions. When your stadium is usually half full of the opposing color, you find these things incredibly annoying.
4) The scrimmage ended with a touchdown reception by Larry Smith (yes, the QB) in the back of the end zone with two seconds on the clock. A sign of a new QB emerging (Jordan Rodgers, where are you?!) and Smith converting to a receiver? I'm not an idiot, as I know he'll either be our #1 or #2 QB. However, as much as the TD should have ended things on a high note, for me it only brought back the horrid memories of Bobby Johnson lining Cutler up on the outside and putting in an inexperienced Chris Nickson in the pivotal MTSU game of '05.

Speaking of the above game that should really never be mentioned again, I may do another post completely devoted to Vanderbilt meltdowns that have left me unable to function the next day. MTSU would be a great start, but I'll have to apologize to Mary. A post on that topic would be very long.

Football 101 with me (and Coach Franklin)

As the blog craze becomes more and more popular, it seems that many of my friends are writing about one of two things: families or cooking. Well, I don't cook much and when I do, it's certainly not worthy of any recognition in the blogosphere. As for family, I have a great one, but since I don't have children or a husband (or even a boyfriend--maybe this blog will help with that!), I doubt anyone wants to hear about my daily phone calls with my mother one state over. So, I've decided to combine two things I enjoy--writing and Vanderbilt sports--and share my thoughts with all of you. By enjoy, I mean writing--I absolutely love and am obsessed with Vanderbilt sports. And by all, I may only mean my family and a few close friends who read to show their support, but that's okay too.

Since my blog is new, I decided post number one should also be about a new event--one I attended last Saturday. Someone at Vanderbilt (James Franklin, I think) had the great idea to FINALLY offer a women's football clinic! For anyone who even remotely knows me, you know that I live for Vanderbilt football, so even with some recent health issues, there was no way I was missing this. (I did have to sit out the drill portion, which was sad, because I wanted to impress the new quarterback coach with my throwing arm.) I won't divulge some of the info that was shared so that this clinic seems even more mysterious to the men out there, but I will say that I'm pretty damn excited for the season! As much I offer my unwavering support to VU athletics, I am anything but the eternal optimist, and I went into the Franklin hire feeling pretty ambivalent. However, I love his enthusiam, and I think we have the right man for the job. I still want to see results on the field before I proclaim that he will be our savior, but I think he gets what playing at Vanderbilt is all about. He certainly could have sold me on his pitch of the combination of big-time football with an elite academic experience, all in a large but friendly Southern city. With the very short amount of time he had, I think I understand why he did so well with recruiting this winter--he brings an energy to the program that was previously lacking. To appeal to my sometimes-elitist mentality when it comes to Vanderbilt (yep, I'll admit it), I was happy to learn that the new staff holds three degrees from Ivy League institutions as well. I was particularly impressed with Bob Shoop, the new co-Defensive Coordinator. A Yale graduate, he was polished and articulate but also had a TON of passion! I don't know how much 17 year olds care about the words a coach uses or the way he presents himself, but I do and I'm pretty sure some parents of those 17 year olds do too.

If anyone is still reading at this point (I've probably lost everyone but my mom and dad), here are some highlights of the day:
1) Tour of the locker room and more importantly, the chance to hold a football helmet for the first time. My two thoughts? Wow, they're heavy and I would not trust that amount of padding between my head and the 300 lb player throwing me to the ground! (It's important to report that no half-naked players were included in the tour, but that would have brought my enjoyment of the day to a whole new level.)

2) My first-ever chance to watch game film and actually concentrate on one player at a time. Watching live, I certainly can't focus on all 22 men at once, and it gave me a new perspective to see things frame by frame. I mean, who really watches the OL and DL closely at a game?

3) The fact that there 100-150 other women out there who care enough about VU football to come to the clinic! Sure, some weren't the most knowledgeable football fans--I mean, who does not know what redshirting means?! I wanted to show off and explain the definition of greyshirting to one up everyone--but they gave up their Saturday to be there. It's just like all I ask for the actual games--show up, wear black and gold, and cheer, whether or not you can name one player on the field or know the first thing about being a student at Vanderbilt! For the record, some women seemed to know a lot!

4) The coaches seem very family-oriented. There were kids running around, babies that didn't even scream at the sound of a loud whistle, and every coach talked proudly about his children. Several even mentioned that their kids are why they are out here doing this. I'm a sucker for the sentimental aspect of things, and the OC and DCs pics of their kids on the slideshows tugged at my heart a little.

Not so impressed with:
1) The training table (i.e. the athletic cafeteria). I think it used to be called the Hendrix (?) Room but it doesn't seem to have a name now. I know, Magic is famous and has been voted the number 1 athletic chef in the country, and I don't mean to take anything away from him. However, I felt like I was at Rand circa 1998. I will say that the chicken was not pink and there was no mystery meat in any of the casseroles, but I was just not that impressed.

2) The fact that I didn't win a door prize! Since the only people (or should I say person?) who could possibly still be reading at this point know me extremely well, you also know my competitive nature. I knew the answer to every question except one, but I just didn't get my hand up fast enough. I actually had the chance to answer one and gave the wrong answer, and I silently berated myself for about an hour after this. It's not that I had to have the $25 Ruth's Chris gift card (though I like their petite filet), but I wanted the chance to show the coaches my vast array of Vanderbilt football knowledge. Sadly, there was no competition to match current and former players names and jersey numbers. I would have won that one in a heartbeat! *And the question I didn't know? Name the 5 years Vanderbilt has played in a bowl game? 5, you're wondering? Yep, Franklin was being extremely confident and threw in 2011. Let's back up and look at the 4 proven years, and I didn't know the first two. Shame on me. Of course, they did both occur before my birth, but that's not a good excuse.

Lastly, Coach Franklin mentioned that he had received his first hate mail from Vanderbilt fans (he may have gotten some from Maryland fans on his way out the door?) regarding this clinic and was called sexist and misogynistic. The women's studies minor and feminist in me has to chime in here. I don't believe it's sexist in any possible way to offer women the chance to come together as a group of Vanderbilt fans and learn more about football. It wasn't taught in a way that implied that someone needed to explain what touchdown means to all of us, and considering that we haven't had a chance to play or coach or really be involved in football in a meaningful way, I was all for it. And yes, I know that if I could have kicked a 50 yard field goal in high school, I probably could have played with the boys, but let's be honest--every time I try to kick or punt a football, it really hurts my foot!