For most of my upbringing, we didn’t watch very many sports.  My family wasn’t a U of M, OSU-hating kind — we were more into sitting around, drinking coffee and telling jokes.  Because of the last 30 years of my life experience being very light on sports, I have to work at appreciating football, baseball and hockey.  While I’m big enough to probably do something of value on a football field (just ask the coaches from my high school who repeatedly hit me up to join), I just don’t really care that much.  Are you into crafts?  Me neither.  Not my bag.  Imagine trying to stay interested for 3 hours in a place like Jo Ann Fabrics and you know what it’s been like for me. My interest has been marginal at best.

Then Malachi came along.  He’s into football.  So now, I’m into football.  Sort of.  We’re watching U of M pummel Eastern Michigan.  He’s into it (sort of) and I’m into it (sort of).  Maybe by the time he’s 10 and I’m, well, whatever age I’ll be when he’s ten, I’ll be the biggest fan.  Maybe I’ll tailgate in my own driveway and scream obscenities while driving through Columbus.  I’d hate to think that it will go that far, so let’s just say that I’ll probably always be at least marginal enough to still like people who hail from Ohio.  I’ve seen the alternative and it’s not pretty.