rekkidblogga

Fun on The Flats

Sitting next to my friend Rogers and me at last night's Connecticut-Georgia Tech game was a dad with his two young boys, probably ages six and nine, and they were all decked out in their Tech gear. Dad was teaching the juniors about the finer points of football ("See how P.J. Daniels just fought for that extra yard, son? That's what you call 'second effort'.) and the little guys were taking it all in, the sixer asking plenty of questions all starting with "Dad! Dad!" and the older, wiser brother studying the game like a young scholar, likely having gleaned a couple of extra years' worth of dad's tips that his baby bro wasn't yet privy to.

I got chummy with the dad and the kids somewhat and by the end of the game, we were high-fiving and chatting. Little bro even got caught making rabbit ears behind big bro's head and big bro swatted at him playfully. And suddenly I wished I had my nieces, who are 10 and eight, with me. Because it would have been one big kid/grownup party, with my girls flirting in their coquettish little kid way with those really cute boys who will grow up to be teenage heartbreakers, and the lot of them doing what kids do best: taking an event that adults get all too serious about -- like college football -- and breaking it down to its essence: a game, a fun game. A game where you go to have a Coke, spend some quality time with your dad or your aunt, watch super-big guys run around in weird-looking uniforms, jump around and yell like crazy when your team scores a touchdown and, of course, make rabbit ears behind your big brother's head when he's not looking.

posted by rekkidbraka @ 2:34 PM