LSU, Alabama, Notre Dame and Who?

This post has a soundtrack.  If you don’t have Spotify, go get it.

I’m a big college sports fan.  But when I was a kid, we didn’t have the internet.  Or many television channels.  So my generation’s perspective of colleges and whatnot was much narrower than that of today’s youth.  What I’m trying to say is that because we didn’t have the ability to see as many college football games, sports was big, but not like today.  So it never occurred to me that by electing to spend four happy years somewhere, I might be sentencing myself to decades of pulling for a perennial underdog.

And my dad went to Wake Forest, for about a minute.  Before he left to fly a Hellcat from an aircraft carrier.  To shoot and be shot at by other young dudes in other planes.  He got a bunch of medals, including a DFC, but no college degree.

So I went to Wake Forest.  I had a blast, and loved just about every minute of it.  But let me tell you, it is hard to be a WFU sports fan.  You experience brief moments of ecstasy surrounded by long periods of frustration.  There is, for sure, something noble in that.  But I can’t say I’ve never wondered what life would be like as an LSU fan or (God forbid) a University of Texas fan.

Among the big-time college football programs, LSU has long been my favorite.  I’ve spent a lot of time in Louisiana, and some of my closest friends are Cajuns.  Hard core, French talkin’, LSU lovin’ Cajuns.  And some of the coolest people- and best cooks- in the world.

So I hope LSU wins tonight.  But there’s a little problem.

In a magical occurrence that even Wake Forest fans don’t completely understand, Wake is playing Notre Dame tonight.  At Wake Forest.  Yeah, I know.  But it’s pretty cool.

It also starts at the same time as the LSU Alabama game.

My kids tolerate the Deacons, because they know how sadly passionate I am about WFU football (I am bored to tears with WFU basketball, but that’s a topic for another say).  But this LSU Alabama game has mad traction, even with the middle school/junior high crowd.  Delaney and most of her friends have been squarely in the LSU corner, taunting and being taunted by the “Alabama girls” at school.  I’ve heard my kids talking about the game all week.

Delaney’s bedroom door

I want to watch the Wake Forest game.  There is zero chance that any of my kids will agree to watch the Wake game in lieu of LSU Alabama.  And I want to share the game experience with my kids.

So, I had to set up some supplemental audio video gear in my study, where we watch most of our sports.  I set up a crappy little Vizio TV I bought from Woot a year or so ago for a dollar or two.

We’ll start off with Wake Forest on the big screen, and my fingers crossed.  If Wake can hang with the Irish, we’ll have to squint a little to see the LSU game.  If Wake gets clobbered, I’ll swap screens.

Either way, this will be a great night for college football.