Back when Jimmy Orr called in December and asked me to do this thing in this space, my first immediate thought was, “what the hell will I write about until football season starts?”
The long wait is over.
Cynics who were awake as the clock struck midnight last Sunday morning might say it was over before it began.
Pshhht.
I was awake then and also for nearly the whole bitter night that followed, trying to figure out what the hell happened in Arizona.
But that page has turned.
Now it’s time for the home opener on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., the time all games should kick off, at a sun-splashed War Memorial Stadium.
I hate opening the season on the road because, by golly, if the unthinkable occurs there, it takes about 5 percent and a few hours’ shine off the buildup to the home opener.
We are spending half a month’s pay to stay two nights in Laramie this weekend, because Friday is the Hall of Fame.
Hotels there require a two-night minimum, and when I booked in February, I did not know what time kickoff would be.
Even though we could happily be home almost by dark on Saturday, we’ll take our sun-fried selves back to the room with drive-thru food, watch football on TV, and head home very early Sunday.
The hotel thing may be free enterprise and what the market will bear, but it’s criminal and should be somehow regulated.
I have long called for some kind of summit between the university and the city government, but those two things don’t have much to do with each other.
So it’s the Hall of Fame this weekend, a Pi Phi reunion next weekend and Homecoming the weekend of Sept. 28.
We may never recover financially, but it’s happening.
Since moving to Glenrock 16 years ago, I have become used to our three-road route, I-25 to Highway 34 to “the road to heaven,” as I refer to it.
The 55 mile an hour speed limit through Sybille Canyon nearly does me in, but looking for cute critters gives me something to do.
The last stretch after the turn is devoted to checking my face, putting the snacks away, calling the gang to report in and grabbing our hotel confirmation and/or parking pass and game tickets.
The two hours and 10 minutes flies by.
Now that we have reached the big-time of nearly every game being televised, I have loved hearing what the announcers say about Laramie after the game is over. Of course, the outcome has to be right or the game gets erased from storage.
Last year, Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman made their first trip to Laramie for the Texas Tech thriller.
Brando especially could not have been more complimentary, and you could tell he really loved it.
Rich Waltz is one of my favorite broadcasters, and he and big Aaron Taylor have been to Laramie many times.
This year, Brando and Waltz both have new partners in the booth, which takes some getting used to.
Waltz, too, seems to appreciate the uniqueness of being at 7220.
Last year, his one-sentence open was memorable and we were reminded of it this week when football’s social media used it in their tease.
I would not want to be the Idaho Vandals this week.
I think the Pokes are ready to deliver a beatdown. And I think the defense will remember what the hell they are supposed to do.
Waltz said, “Welcome to Laramie, it’s just different.”
Thanks be to God.
Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at: SallyAnn@CowboyStateDaily.com
