This season has put a lot of things in perspective for me. My dad and I have bonded over Mizzou football and basketball since I was little. Pretty much every early memory of my early childhood includes a sporting event of some kind and literally every conversation we've had since I was about 10 involved Mizzou or the Chiefs in some capacity. My dad is filled with eternal hope and thinks everything the Tigers do is great no matter what. Every recruit is going to be a star (I vividly recall him telling me Ricardo Rhodes would be an amazing running back) and every coach we hire is going to take us to unprecedented heights.
This season caused quite a bit of playful hostility as we argued over the direction of the program as the 1-5 start unfolded. My dad works weekends and doesn't get to attend many games, so when he does it's the literal highlight of his year. We went to the Tennessee game this year and it was just such a joy to see his eyes light up when we started pulling away.
I decided that I would take him to the Texas Bowl if we made it (he's off Wednesdays and Thursdays) and I booked our trip and purchased tickets yesterday without his knowledge and just told him we were going this morning. It's funny, this isn't close to a Playoff game or a New Years 6 Bowl but to him it might as well be. He's so taken back that he says he won't be able to sleep until we leave. To me, this is definitely what sports should be all about (and I frequently lose sight of this as a bit of a jaded, sarcastic fan) the comradery you experience with friends/family is truly something that should be treasured as some day I won't have him around at all to enjoy this with. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you in Houston and I'll be heading in with an optimistic outlook with visions of a Longhorn beat-down dancing in my head!
This season caused quite a bit of playful hostility as we argued over the direction of the program as the 1-5 start unfolded. My dad works weekends and doesn't get to attend many games, so when he does it's the literal highlight of his year. We went to the Tennessee game this year and it was just such a joy to see his eyes light up when we started pulling away.
I decided that I would take him to the Texas Bowl if we made it (he's off Wednesdays and Thursdays) and I booked our trip and purchased tickets yesterday without his knowledge and just told him we were going this morning. It's funny, this isn't close to a Playoff game or a New Years 6 Bowl but to him it might as well be. He's so taken back that he says he won't be able to sleep until we leave. To me, this is definitely what sports should be all about (and I frequently lose sight of this as a bit of a jaded, sarcastic fan) the comradery you experience with friends/family is truly something that should be treasured as some day I won't have him around at all to enjoy this with. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you in Houston and I'll be heading in with an optimistic outlook with visions of a Longhorn beat-down dancing in my head!
