Cooking and Gardening have taken a back seat to Sports. Sports seasons never really start and stop at our house, but fall means tennis and football swing in to high gear.
I was the only one in the house who let my sport go for the summer, but playing tennis in 100+ heat and humidity just ain't my thing anymore. Fall tennis season is now underway with USTA league tennis and several local events and I am trying to get back into tennis shape - mentally and physically. My sister, Cindy, and I defended our Cleveland County 3.5 doubles title last weekend and managed to hold on to it. I might say Cindy managed to hold on to it. During parts of the matches, I had the feeling that I was standing on the court holding a racquet while Cindy was running around making the shots. Cindy doesn't mind playing in the heat and she has kept up play all summer. Her mixed doubles team heads to state championships in a few weeks. This fall, we are playing with 6 women on a 7.5 women's doubles team. Our first match was in Boone NC which is nearly two hours away. We lost the match, but stopped at a great Thai restaurant on the way home which made us all feel better. No way to get away from food, even in a sports blog! Our new tennis team is going to struggle, but we will improve over the season and we have alot of fun together.
David III is just getting back into golf after a couple of years and played several times over the summer here and there. The local course he typically plays has been under greens renovation so that gave him a reason to strike out and play a few other courses when he could find the time.
David IV and Jay worked out all summer to stay in shape before heading back to college where the pace steps up dramatically in Division I athletics. Jay is settling in at Gardner-Webb with classes starting and with pre-season basketball workouts. Pre-season workouts include running certain distances in certain times, working out with weights, shooting practice and playing pick up games. Basketball season will get underway in November.
So, right now it's Football season. We follow high school, college, and pro football, but our hearts are with David IV and the Wofford Terriers. After a long, hard, and very hot pre-season camp in August, the Wofford Football season began Labor Day weekend playing Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
David IV had enjoyed a great pre-season camp and was looking forward to his senior year of college football. Unfortunately, in the last few days of camp he developed an infection which had to be surgically removed - called I and D in medical speak. He also took high powered antibiotics. Fortunately, he is doing well and we are once again grateful for the doctors who helped guide us through a very scary time. Staff infections are common in contact sports, but have become more troublesome because some strains are very strong, dangerous and resistant to antibiotics. This is also true in the general population so learning the facts and taking precautions is a good idea for all of us. Good hand washing sounds so simple, but is the number one thing that helps. Most of us don't wash our hands long enough, so the suggestion is to wash with warm soapy water while singing three verses of Happy Birthday to You or Row Row Row your Boat! I'm trying my best not to go germ crazy, so if you see me singing while washing my hands you'll understand. Enough about germs. Just remember that your skin is your first line of defense so take good care of it.
There are alot of fun things about Wofford Football - 1) we love football in general and the whole chess match strategy that comes with it 2) we love going to places we would never have a reason to visit (like Athens, Ohio) 3) we love being with David and all of the players, parents and fans we have met through football.
Since David was on the injured list, he rode with us to Ohio for the first game. I guess this was bittersweet for him, but for me it was fun. Usually we don't see him until after a game on a game weekend, so we enjoyed having extra time with him. He had his ipod and did a great job of picking out songs to match the mood of the drive. Driving through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia, we heard Hootie and the Blowfish, Jason Aldean, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, and alot of other familiar and unfamiliar music. Picking out music to match the moment was hilarious at one point when David III needed to make a hairpin U-Turn that required perfect timing. We cracked up when David said, "Dad you can do it" and then his ipod started blaring Bad to the Bone!
Athens, Ohio is a pretty college town that reminded me of a cross between Chapel Hill and Boone. It is all about the old university there and has a hilly downtown area full of interesting shops, bars and restaurants. We found a neat restaurant downtown called Casa Nueva that featured mexican style food but with all locally grown ingredients. They were a part of the slow foods/local foods movement and the menu listed about 50 farms from the area where the restaurant bought all the vegetables and meats for their dishes. They made homemade tortillas and chips which were wonderful. They had eight or ten different salsas and the best pico de gallo ever. They also had several kinds of beer from Ohio micro breweries.
The weather was perfect for football and before the game we met up with a fun crowd of Wofford parents and fans for a tailgate. Teresa and Jamey brought their rocking RV up from Beaufort, SC and they were the homebase for the tailgate. When, we arrived, they already had a nice spread of food and were shagging to Carolina beach music. It was great to be together again after not seeing this crowd since last fall.
The game was fun and Wofford played pretty well. A few less turnovers could have meant the difference in the game, but Wofford made a decent showing for a non-conference game against a much larger school.
So, football season 2010 is underway and every weekend through November, we know where we will be and what we will be doing. Go Terriers!
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