At this time in my life, it’s better to focus on sports rather than prostrate or back problems. It’s also best to whine over losses than pain, but I’m not suffering at all. Even though the Elkhart Lions lost a tough one Friday night in the high school football playoffs, they are really not my team anymore, having abandoned the Blue Blazer nickname. Besides, the nearby Venice Indians, my new HS team, won 42-8 over Sarasota Riverside to go 9-1 on the season. IU soccer, basketball, and football are on winning streaks, so I’m living a charmed life. On the other hand, Da Bears play today, after a painful finish last weekend, but I’m used to that!

Five years ago, I wrote an article about my Spartan frustrations called, “O for East Lansing.” (See Post #1509). It seemed like every time my football Hoosiers traveled to East Lansing they were crushed, especially if I went myself. The same was sadly true for games in Bloomington, dating back to Rob Stradley, a friend Kim’s brother, who wore #22 for the team. A sense of dread always fills me when I hear the name “Sparty.” I even once attended a pep rally in East Lansing where I was the only one wearing red. Other friends named Craig Cole and Jeff White gloated in victory. I mention all these names because they are weeping green tears today. 


Winning against Michigan State doesn’t happen very often, considering the all-time series record is 50-19-2, but I.U. prevailed yesterday 47-10 in East Lansing, despite falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter. I don’t ever recall a chance to watch our players victoriously spit in the Old Brass Spittoon, a nasty ritual. I’m sure that at the end of the first quarter, Spartan fans like Stradley, White, and Cole were thinking that the Hoosiers were overrated. However, 47-straight points later they were crying in their beer, if they were still watching at all. I was!

Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, returning from thumb surgery, threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns, including two to Elijah Sarratt, and Amare Ferrell had two interceptions Saturday to lead No. 13 Indiana to its first 9-0 start in school history. #10 Texas A&M and #11 Clemson both lost, assuring IU of a Top 10 ranking and spot in the college Playoffs, if they continue to win. That won’t be easy against Michigan, Ohio State, and Purdue.

The Spittoon trophy, first introduced in 1950, had been in the hands of the Spartans since 2007. It only lived in Bloomington a dozen times in all those years, filled with DNA from seasons past. 1967-69 was the longest stretch of Hoosier victories over the Spartans, all three in East Lansing, coinciding with IU’s only Rose Bowl appearance and only the second time they had won nine games until this year. I was still in high school, not yet a season ticket holder, so yet to experience “0 for East Lansing.” I can only hope that it never happens again! Go Hoosiers!