Football in Heaven

It's officially underway. Football season when perfectly sane people lose their minds every weekend over the fate of their favorite team.

The final result isn't the end of the world, but for many fans you would think so. 

Around here, we're lucky to have the Patriots, a more than successful team that is beloved in New England, but not so much elsewhere. They remind me of the Oakland Raiders, which was the team you loved to hate when I was growing up.

The younger fans among us don't remember the carnival years that preceded the Pats successful run. Our friend, Jerry Thornton has written a best seller about that era which I highly recommend. It's called From Darkness to Dynasty and is available on Amazon and elsewhere. His new book continues the story and is called Five Rings.

As I've gotten older, I've become a bigger fan of college football. It started with the Boston College Eagles. My younger brothers attended BC and my kid brother became a huge BC sports nut.  He and my Dad had season's tickets to football, basketball and hockey, even after Eric graduated. 

We started attending football games with them and soon had season tickets ourselves. The highlights were the years Matt Ryan quarterbacked the team. In 2007, BC was ranked as high as Number 2 in the country and in December  played in the ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville against Virgina Tech. (BC lost 30 - 16.) 

My Dad was in remission from bladder cancer and joined Eric and me on the trip. I wish I had a better copy of the picture of the two of us. It was taken at Jacksonville Beach and is the last photo of just me and my Dad. He passed away the following August.

As he was facing his final days, he wondered aloud if there was "football in heaven."  We assured him that there was.

Dad and Doug Flutie
April  2008

But what would it be like? Do they have their own heavenly leagues? Just think about some of the players and coaches, who could be involved. Talk about fantasy teams!

Or do Heaven's residents gather around a celestial wide screen TV on Sunday afternoons and watch the NFL on CBS?

Are they already aware of the final score or does the One who knows all keep it a secret?

No matter. I'm convinced that somehow my Dad has managed over the last decade to follow the success of  his favorite teams.

If not, I'm sure my Mom - who enjoyed attending a game as much as anyone -  has brought him up-to-date.

As Luke Scott, who played baseball for the Orioles, Astros and Rays, put it: "I believe God created sports for a good reason. It's recreation. It's something that we enjoy. It teaches us a lot as well...I believe God is a sports fan."

Amen to that.

Keep Tahoe Blue

One of our favorite vacation spots is Lake Tahoe. We "discovered" it several years ago when I was working for a company that had an office in Reno.

Tahoe borders California and Nevada. The line of demarcation is more or less the casinos.

We stay on the California side at a hotel with a beach right on the Lake. The water is cold, but refreshing, as the cliche goes.

It's also clear as the Caribbean. Hence, the rallying cry to "Keep Tahoe Blue."  (www.keeptahoeblue.org)

When were there earlier this month, the Sierra Nevada Mountains were obscured sometimes by smoke from the devastating wildfires.

But the scenery is so spectacular that even an amateur photographer like me can look like a pro.