Skies and Shawls and Football

It was a beautiful fall day capped with a beautiful cloudless blue sky.


It wasn't quite cool enough to open the windows, despite the North breeze that blew all day. However, despite the warmth, it was a perfect day for knitting and football.

I got part of my problems with my Garden Party shawl worked out, and did the first chart of the More Lacy Lattice pattern. The problem I was having is that the pattern repeats sometimes shift a stitch or two to the right or to the left. Once I began ignoring my stitch markers, I didn't have any more trouble--other than that of my own doing. I started the second chart, but got messed up pretty quickly, being by that time far too engrossed in football games. As such, I was far too engrossed with football games to try to work things out, so I just ripped back to my lifeline and will try again tomorrow. And just what was so engrossing about football?

It was the weekend of the upset. There seems to be one every year, and this weekend was it for this year. It all started with the big upset of #1 USC by Oregon State on Thursday. It was followed today by what will probably be forever known as the shocker of the year: Ol Miss defeating Florida in Florida. (Yeah, Oregon State defeated USC, but they didn't do it on the road. It's a whole different ball game than defeating a team in their own house.)

Ol Miss quarterback Jevan Snead:

(Getty Images)

I'm telling you, that game is going to be the talk of the town all week!

The you have #8 Alabama knocking off #3 Georgia, and unranked Michigan toppling #9 Wisconsin. All in all four of the top ten teams lost. There were more upsets farther down in the rankings (#16 wake Forest, #20 Clemson, #23 Carolina), as well. You know there's going to be some serious shakeups in the rankings tomorrow.

After watching Ol Miss win, I was so excited because they actually showed the Texas/Arkansas game. Woo Hoo! I was going to get to watch it!

Gratuitous Colt McCoy photo:

(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

But, early in the third quarter, with the score 45-3, the powers that be decided to switch to the Colorado/Florida State game. Boo Hiss. The final score was 52-10 Texas. You know, everyone gushes over Tim Tebow, but Colt McCoy is just as good. He threw three touchdown passes in that game, and rushed for two more. Tebow hasn't done nearly as much--not this year.

I wasn't that interested in Colorado/Florida State, so I turned over and watched Tennessee almost upset #15 Auburn, who squeaked by with a 14-12 victory.

Finally, I finished out the day watching a rather lethargic looking LSU defeat an even more lethargic looking Mississippi State 34-24.

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Jarrett Lee played the whole game, with Andrew Hatch still recovering from the slugging he took at the hands of Auburn last week. (The commentator at that game remarked "I guarantee you [the medical personnel] is asking him 'How many fingers?' and he's answering 'Thursday'.") It's been a long time since I've seen a bell rung quite that like that--at least at the college level.

Tomorrow promises to be an even better day. The Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins have one of the oldest and most bitter rivalries in the NFL. Things have cooled somewhat from the early days--no more death threats or funeral wreaths--but there's still plenty of bitterness, at least on the Washington side of things. They absolutely HATE the Cowboys, and it makes them even more mad that the Cowboys don't hate them. To the Cowboys, they have become just another division rival, though I could tell you some stories about the old days--like the time they knocked Roger Staubach unconscious. I was pretty little then, and when I saw him laying there motionless on the field, I thought he was dead. I just stared at the TV screen.

"They killed him," I said in disbelief. I was so relieved when he was able to get up and walk off the field, though he was out for the rest of the game.

Another favorite memory: The 1985 season opener. It was Joe Theismann's 36th birthday. He threw 5 interceptions that day, and the Redskins coach finally benched him. as he was walking off the field, the entire audience at Texas Stadium stood up and began singing;

Happy birthday to you!

It wasn't long after that--just a couple of months--that Joe received his career ending injury when Lawrence Taylor of the NY Giants broke both bones of his right leg while sacking him.

It was pretty icky.


Finally, I put up just a bit of fall color:

Fake Fall Wreath.

Now, if I can just find the rest of my fall decorations...

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