Still in Disbelief

Even though I went to bed before 2 p.m. last night, I was still up and ready to go when Cameron and Cora called to say they were on their way to the lobby to meet her parents for the drive home.  I was glad that Doug and I got to see them before we left and that we had an easy drive through Georgia stopping once for gas and another time for Arby's.  Since it was such a beautiful afternoon, we decided to also stop at Swamp Head in Gainesville before finishing the drive.  While we were there talking about our night, a Florida grad stop to congratulate us on IU's win and talk about the amazing transformation of the IU football team.  

On our way home, I thought a lot about the Hoosiers.  IU football had been an important part of my life since 1987 when I arrived on campus my freshmen year.  My cousin, Krystal, and I went to every home game and were there when they tore down the goal posts after beating Michigan that fall.  At the time, we didn't realize that a winning season and going to bowl games were an anomaly for the Hoosiers.  After 1990, there wasn't a lot to cheer about, but Doug and I still remained loyal going to at least one game every year after we graduated and even having season tickets for several years when Brett, Cal and Meg were in Bloomington making for some wonderful Heinisch family memories.  

The love that we had for the team only grew when Cameron became their number one fan during high school.  He knew every player on the team and completely adopted Tom Allen's philosophy LEO.  We went to more games than I could count and even sat in the stands putting up with inclement weather to watch them play Ohio State never giving up on them even when the football players had obviously quit on themselves.  Sometime during the fall of Cameron's freshmen year in college, when it was apparent that IU football would be parting ways with their coach, he asked me if I would rather have the Hoosiers win another national championship in basketball or one in football.  I didn't hesitate when I said, football.  Even though it had been over 35 years since they won their last championship, I had already seen basketball rise to the top.  I thought that it would be a lot better story and more fun to watch if it was football playing in the national championship game.  At the time, I never even dreamed it would be possible.  Now, next week, they have a real shot at going 16-0, erasing the past and making history as the biggest turn around by a sports team ever.  I still can't believe it.