12

There was a time in my life that I cheered whole-heartedly for the Michigan State Spartans. I would pile into the bar, climb on the couch or even go to the arena to cheer for my Green and White. And I would cheer loudly.

But now, nearly 10 years out, I think I may be the only graduate of MSU that hopes they lose. Well, that's not exactly true. During football season, I say kill everyone.

But basketball is such a drag. And having the hubbie gone for as many as five weeks in a row is just too much. It's too much, I say! Now, if they had a chance to win it all, or even make the Big 8, I would feel a little better about it. But to go to Round 1 and likely fail, it's just hard.

Next year, it seems, will be the year. That's reasonable. I have a year to mentally prepare and schedule assistance with my then-two children. Let's hope the Grandmas realize they will be spending March in Okemos.

The spouse is driving to Winston-Salem now. That's 10 hours of hard driving through the Smokey Mountains. Jack and I are just about sick of it. And I know he is too.

Whenever I tell people what my husband does (at least guys) think it's glamorous and fun. They usually say something like, "Wow! He gets to go to all the games?! He gets to talk to Izzo?! What's that like?!"

Yeah, I am sure it was fun and exciting the first five or so years he did it but the germy planes, cheap hotels and crappy dinners get old. And it gets old for the family. And now he has a 2 year-old and No. 2 on the way, and he misses things. He freaks every time he gets home claiming Jack looks older. This last time he said he looked like he was 12!

Maybe I should start a support group with other sports widows and widowers?

True, in the off season, things lighten. He's home for dinner every night and is around to play with the kid a lot more. But trust me, the perks of the summer are quickly forgotten once the 7-day weeks and late nights begin. And the travel. It's not fun to go to Penn State in January. It's not fun to go to crummy Purdue. There's no glamour in Fairfield Inns of the Big 10.

Really, it's just during that damn basketball season. Football is easy. It's Saturdays only(which by the way, most people have off to enjoy the football games and spend time with their family) andthe most he is gone is a weekend.

But basketball is sneaky. It pops up on Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays or even Sundays. It can be in the early evening, morning, afternoon or late night because of TV. And even though it should be a fairly quick game, players always seem to drag it out with timeouts and tons of fouls at the end. I hate that! I don't think it should be allowed. If there's 13 seconds left and you are down by 7 YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE! Let it go.

I feel bad for him, honestly. I know he's so tired. You would think the man would hate basketball and everything it stands for ... but no. When he gets home, I know he will immediately flip on ESPN to see what the Pistons are up to ... and then I will have to watch every single Tigers baseball game this summer. And what about the Red Wings, are they good enough for the Stanley Cup? Please tell me no.

Sports writers are a strange breed. It's a high stress, low reward position that requires passion to do it well. He's got the passion and the talent. Now, I just need more patience ... and a Marquette University sweatshirt.