Such Language

Last night, Will, his godfather Al and I settled in to our seats to watch Vanderbilt play LSU. Vanderbilt laid an egg, but it wasn't their inept offensive play that kept us from enjoying the game. It was the people around us, fans from both sides.

I've been attending Vanderbilt games a long time and never heard so many foul mouths in my life, not in college, the Navy or anywhere else. A group of six Vandy fans acted like orcs. Three were teens, two girls and one boy, who talked just like their obnoxious father, who threatened to fight a group of LSU fans a few rows behind them. Will and I moved down a row, but you could still hear the gutter talk. To my right, other fans also weren't saying nice things about people's mothers. A few LSU fans, young girls around 20 who probably had been drinking the entire day, barely made it to their seats. They had no idea where they were.

Midway through the second quarter, Will asked if we could leave at halftime. The thought of moving to other seats crossed my mind, but I said maybe. Minutes later, his request was more urgent. He was having an awful time. I thought about what he's going through. The evening was supposed to be about fun, a break. Instead, he was likely thinking what I was: "How could people act so hatefully and boorishly? It's a football game."

I looked at Al, and he nodded. Let's get out of here. This is impossible to enjoy.

Sorry to sound snobbish, but those people did little to honor the heroes of 9/11 with their behavior. It seems like more folks today are angrier and unhappier than 15 or certainly 30 years ago. Or maybe it's just where we're sitting!

Will and I rode 10 on the bike yesterday, and I enjoyed a 27-mile ride early this morning through suburbs, farmland and city parks. I counted eight serious hills with an ascend of 1,000 feet (according to mapmyrun.com). I did see one road rager try to run five bikers off the road (he honked his horn and yelled at them). Maybe he sat behind me at the football game.

This afternoon at cross country, Will PR'd again, running a mile in 6:40. I love watching him and Kathryn run. Kathryn always seems to run her best times toward the end of the season, and she's probably not fully recovered from her hospital visit. I'm proud of both of them for being active and determined to do better, whether they've had a good day or not.

Speaking of good days, Dori seems to be having them. She's very tired from the chemo but still not feeling other side effects, which is great. I'm feeling better, now that the stay at Vanderbilt is behind us.

We move on.