In mid-December we drove 660 miles to hang out with my sister Terry and to attend the Frisco Bowl. We’ve made the drive many times since 1984, becoming familiar with the towns, restaurants, and gas stations along the way. The drive is fast these days, four lanes all the way meaning that some of the traffic, including me, is going 80 mph plus for at least part of the way. By the time we get to southern Oklahoma, it’s 85 plus, at least for a short stretch. The last 60 or so miles is much slower—lots of road construction and the usual north Dallas jam of cars and trucks driven by frustrated race vehicle crazy people. Our big girl Pearl joined us on this road trip.

Bowl season can be fun, made even better by attendance at one of the games. We went to the Frisco Bowl because the University of Memphis was playing in it. Janet and I met in Memphis when I was a faculty member at Memphis State University, now the University of Memphis. We have enjoyed watching many Tigers games over the years, especially those we have seen in person.

Last year we went to see Ohio State versus Missouri play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was a boring game played by two teams hit by injuries and player hold-outs. We had fun, but the tickets were expensive and not that good. The Frisco Bowl is a much less prestigious affair held at a converted futbol (soccer) stadium. The crowd was light, but the fans were excited. Our seats were great—6^th row on the 40-yard line and not expensive at all.

It was a fine game whose outcome wasn’t decided until the last minute. The final score: Memphis 42, West Virginia 37. Together the teams racked up over 1,000 yards in total offense. There were long drives and some amazing plays, including an 89-yard pass and catch by Memphis when it looked like West Virginia had all of the momentum. We cheered and danced and for four hours had a grand old time.

Janet was a member of the marching band when she was a student at Memphis State. You may recall a post of mine two years ago when we saw the University of Memphis play Utah State in the First Responders Bowl. I convinced Janet to pose with the current band members and was able to get several excellent photographs. This year, I couldn’t get her to do it again. I’m not so sure why, but she gave me an emphatic no. So, I was reduced to taking pictures of the band, alone, no Janet. By the way, they sounded great and were a lot of fun to watch. They played with a lot of energy.