A Sense of normalcy

There is no normal in 2020. Our lives have been changed. Possibly forever. I mean seriously, we have to be honest with ourselves, the normal that we once knew and took for granted may never resurface. I was deemed an essential worker so my usual daily routine wasn’t as disrupted as much as most people. But beyond that, just like everyone else, my life changed. As an avid sports fan for the majority of my 52yrs. here on this Earth, not having that escape from the normal trials and tribulations of everyday life, much less during a pandemic that has swept across the entire world, was an adjustment to say the least.

As I sat in Bankers Life Fieldhouse (BLF) watching Indiana play in the Big10 Tournament and the news broke that that would be the last game of the tournament, a large part of me felt empty. I felt for the players, especially the Seniors. I also felt for the coaches, other fans, media friends, and BLF workers. But I was also extremely selfish and felt slighted. Because for 45yrs. I’ve always had sports, especially Indiana University sports, to take me away from anything that I wanted to escape from. But even at that moment, just like everyone else, I had no idea of the magnitude of COVID-19. I figured things would return to normal in a few weeks. A month tops. Boy was I wrong.

As the COVID-19 cases rose nation wide, the possibility of sports making a return seemed more bleak than ever. Whenever it was discussed I was told, “Your focus is in the wrong place. You should be worried about the health of the world, not sports.” My response wasn’t always well received when I tried to explain that my family and I were taking every precaution we could to ensure our safety, but I needed sports in my life to take me away from it all for a few hours a day too.

The NBA and their bubble helped. The virtual fans were a little hard to get used to seeing, but I thought they were better than Major League Baseball’s cardboard cutouts. Empty arena’s and stadiums with piped in crowd noise were obvious adjustments for life long sports fans, but there were in fact sports being played and it helped. If I’m being honest, and I am, it helped a lot. College football’s return was more than welcome too. Once again, it was different, but it was televised competitive sports. And I, along with a whole lot of other people needed it too.

Yesterday saw the return of Big10 football. Which we all know meant the return of some Indiana Hoosiers sports. In what has been a steady climb to not being a doormat in the conference since head coach Tom Allen took over, there had been a lot of excitement building towards this team this year. Seeing “The Rock” on TV and the Hoosiers race onto the field on a beautiful Fall day in Bloomington was just what this Hoosier crazy old man needed for his soul. Taking on the #8 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions meant that the Hoosiers had a chance right out of the gate to beat a top ten ranked opponent for the first time in 33yrs.

That last statement alone suggests the struggle it has been for both the program and it’s fans over the years. Most years, as the season approaches there is an excitement that builds. The past few years that excitement has been warranted. Indiana football is not “there” yet, but they are rapidly heading in that direction. And yesterday they took a huge step towards respectability, and getting “there.” Beating a top ten ranked opponent was on the list of “nexts” for the program to keep climbing the mountain to get to where they want to be.

To put it simply, the offense was…let’s just say rusty. I actually think it was a combination of rust, and anxiousnness due to the delayed start to the season and the excitement building around where this program looks to be heading, that led to the slow start offensively. No disrespect to Penn State, but if not for some errant throws, some catchable balls not being caught, and some questionable calls from the officiating crew, Indiana would have led at the half by more than the 17-7 than they did.

The offense continued to sputter in the second half, but stepped up big time when they had to. Just when things seemed the bleakest and it appeared that IU would have to wait a little while longer to end the 33yr. winless drought against a top 10 opponent, thanks to a lapse in concentration by Penn State, the Hoosiers had life left in them. They promptly put together their best drive of the game which ended in the end zone and brought them within 2 points. They converted the 2 point conversion and we were headed to overtime.

Penn State got the opening possession in OT and scored a touchdown followed by the extra point and led by 7. Indiana took over and continued it’s refound confidence on offense and promptly matched that touchdown. With what appeared to be little hesitation, coach Tom Allen opted to go for the 2 point conversion and try to win this game right then and right there. In a play that will be replayed time and again for quite awhile, Michael Penix Jr. broke free outside, turned the corner, and dove, fully laid out, with the ball extended towards the goal line and corner pylon. Ruling on the field? GOOD! After we at home reviewed it and discussed it for the entire time the replay officials did the same thing (which was quite awhile), the call on the field stood. Hoosiers win! And the only thing that could have made the moment more perfect would have been the stadium being full and the celebration that would have ensued. There’s that COVID-19 rearing it’s ugly head again.

I read and watched everything I could following the big win, all while tuning into another game on TV, all while awaiting the Word Series game to come on. Then, while watching the World Series I scoured the IU football and basketball message boards on Peegs.com to read the excitement (football), and to see if there was any breaking news, or even ‘chatter” on the big decision being made by Trey Kaufman next Friday (basketball), and continued gearing myself up for the start of Indiana Hoosiers basketball season next month.

Just like most of the world’s population I have no idea if/when the news in regards to COVID-19 starts being more positive than negative. So many things have changed since March, so October 24th, 2020 was far from normal. But it was a helluva lot more normal than the past 7 1/2 months worth of Saturday’s have been for me. I finally felt some sense of normalcy. I hope you did too.