This is not the End Zone you’re looking for

[Yes, this is post is labeled World News Wednesday. Yes, it’s Thursday. But I was sick on Monday, so it feels like Wednesday to me. So there.]

There’s more to life than football.

Wait, what?

[I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a football-loving woman. My favorite teams are the University of Michigan Wolverines—Go Blue!—and the Lions, because somebody has to.]

I have finally come to grips with this truth. There is more to life than football.

Fortunately, I’m not the only one who is coming to this realization. Eighty high school football players are also learning this lesson…the hard way. Head Coach Matt Labrum, of the Union High School Cougars in Roosevelt, Utah suspended his entire team because of bad attitudes, poor grades, and dishonorable character. The team handed in their jerseys and practices started looking a little different. Community service and study halls are different drills than running and blocking.

The guys are learning the truth—there’s more to life than football. See the whole story here: Parents, Administrators Back Coach’s Tough Love  

Union High Cougars aren’t the only ones learning this, though. There is more to life than college football, too. (Say it ain’t so!)

Think Even Bigger

On September 14, the phrase “GO BLUE” appeared in skywriting over Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, eliciting lively reactions from Spartan zealots.

[Personally, since I’m a Michigan fan, I had a different reaction than most of the people that witnessed the act. However, the Michigan Wolverines have bigger fish to fry than the cross-town rival Spartans. Cool your jets…literally.]

Here’s where the story gets good. Scott Westerman, director of the MSU Alumni Association, saw it as a unique opportunity. He bit his tongue—which I’m sure was full of choice words for U-M—and had a better idea. He challenged fellow MSU fans to donate $3,000 (what the skywriting probably cost) to the Michigan Ovarian Cancer Alliance. He would then ask U-M to match it.

MSU fans raised more than $20,000, proving that indeed, there is more to life than football.

See the whole story here: Transcending the Rivalry 

So, Yes…

…There’s more to life than football. You’ll still find me wearing the Maize and Blue on most Saturdays and falling asleep to the Lions on the couch on Sundays. But at the end of the day—there’s more to life than football.