Night out no diversion from Badgers-Buckeyes

By Doug Halberstadt
Sports Columnist

Last Saturday night (Oct. 16), the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the top-ranked college football team in the country, the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. More than 82,000 fans witnessed the game in person. Millions more watched the nationally televised game at home or in sports bars all over the country.

I wasn’t able to go to the game or even see it on TV. Because of a previous commitment, I was out to dinner with my oldest daughter and some other very close friends when the game was on. The irony of the situation was, my daughter happens to be an Ohio State fan, and my dinner companion is a huge Badgers fan. The three of us all probably would have preferred to be someplace where we could have seen the game. It just didn’t work out that way.

Because of text messaging, we were able to keep up with the score as the game progressed. My daughter’s boyfriend was watching the game at a party, and he kept sending her updates; my date’s son was doing the exact same thing for her. Between the two of them, they kept us up to speed on what was happening in the game, almost as soon as it happened. It worked out perfectly.

In hindsight, I think it’s almost comical that the women were the ones trying to stay informed about the big game. Usually, I would have been the guilty one trying to sneak a look at my cell phone, or at a TV screen in the bar to catch a glimpse of the score. This time, I didn’t have to—the “girls” were doing it for me.

It was nice that I could be out to dinner with people whose company I enjoy and not have to feel guilty about having my attention split between them and a sporting event. They were doing the exact same thing. It was a great evening! I’m sure we’ll all go out again.

Doug Halberstadt can be reached via e-mail at Dougster61@aol.com.

From the Oct. 20-26, 2010 issue