Fall Break Football

 This past weekend Ohio Northern, along with most schools, was on fall break. I had the opportunity to travel home to see my family, friends, and dogs. When I look forward to going home, I think of two things, home-cooked meals and watching football with the family. Now you may think that watching football with your family is nothing crazy, but compared to at school, it is much more enjoyable. When at school, I am with a diverse group of people that like teams from all over the country. When I am at home, I know we are all rooting on the Bengals and Ohio State, which is a fun environment to be in. What makes this even better is having my pups right by my side. 

    The first football of the weekend was obviously college football Saturday, with the Buckeyes playing at Oregon that night. Throughout the day there were many great games such as the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma, Penn State going to overtime with USC, and South Carolina almost pulling off the upset on Alabama. Now these games made for a great Saturday slate, but the main event was not until that night. This is where home-cooked meals come in as my dad had been smoking ribs in preparation of the game. These made for an excellent meal before possibly the biggest game of the season for the Buckeyes. Ohio State did end up losing a close game that came down to the last play. There is much controversy over the last play in which quarterback Will Howard did not get down in time, but the whole game cannot come down to one play. Although it was a devastating defeat, we still had our Bengals to look forward to on Monday. 

    The Bengals season had not gotten off to a very good start as we lost four games to our one win. This primetime matchup on Monday night was a chance for us to change the season. Before this game, we had another stellar meal from my mom, making her famous lasagna. This meal seemed to have better luck as the Bengals came out firing with a career long touchdown run from Joe Burrow. Our defense also stepped up for the first time, leading us to our second win of the season. Going to bed that night was much easier than two nights prior. 

    After a much-needed break, I had the chance to reflect and savor these moments with my family. It is a reminder to not take these moments for granted and be thankful for those around you. Although both of our teams did not win this weekend, there is no other group of people I would want to be with during those times.