So I have been asked about photo of a ball game ticket I put on social media recently.

I quit collecting baseball cards and football cards decades ago.  They aren’t important to me anymore.  I don’t follow the players anymore.  I will sheepishly admit I don’t have an Eli Manning football card and he has been my favorite football player since I saw him on the Ole Miss Rebels Team Walk into Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium on a cool autumn night in Oxford, Mississppi in 1999 when Eli was a red shirt freshman before a close 20-17 loss to Georgia.  I was there Aunt Barbara and Jarrett.  We had a ball.

But I have kept my ticket stubs.  When I order still want a good old fashion ticket, even if I have to pay a few extra bucks to get.  No getting into the game with a cell phone for this old boy.  Forget about it.

I have the ticket stub from when I saw Ken Anderson’s last start in Riverfront Stadium in 1985.  $15.50 and they were very good green seats, for those of you who remember those.

I have ticket stubs from every Moody Blues concert I attended from 1986 to 2017 and there are over fifty of them.  As they fade a little I notice the faded ones have much lower prices.  I wrote all about that a few posts ago, and I was not giving The Moodies the business.  I was giving the business the business.

I have ticket stubs the say Rose Bowl Stadium on them.  Taking my Dad there was more than a bucket list item.  Together we got to see our dreams before us.  That is what it was like.

I have been so many places.  The Rose Bowl Stadium was my favorite before I got to stand inside the middle of it and breathe in and out with my dear wife, Carrie.  That was almost more than I could handle.

 

I hope to see the Indiana Hoosiers playing there one day.  I believe I will.

So I was asked about that old Indiana Hoosiers football ticket that was on display earlier.  Well, it was more special to me than any Moody Blues concert ticket stub.  That is saying something.

In 1988 the Indiana Hooisers defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 41-7.  The great Keith Jackson was calling the game on ABC television.  That was validation before the game started.  It ended with emphatic validation.  And over the years I looked at that ticket stub and smiled.  It was important.  And I think it may have had a life of its own and continues to hang in there.

What would possess me to go to my ticket stub diary and pluck this out for good measure, as Carrie and I were heading out the door to attend Coach Bill Mallory’s Celebration of Life Service at Memorial Stadium on June 2, 2018?  I didn’t know.  It just felt like the right thing to do.

During the memorial service one of Coach Mallory’s players, Mark Hagen, got up and said a few words about his coach.  Hagen is a defensive coach at Indiana University right now.  Mark Hagen was in uniform when the Hoosiers beat the Buckeyes that day and he spoke from the heart.  And as he spoke I looked at that ticket stub and rubbed it a little bit.  It felt like the right thing to do.

After the service Carrie and I were heading to our exit tunnel out of the stadium.  At that point I spotted Mark Hagen’s wife and family.  There was a lump in my throat when I spoke up and offered that ticket stub to Mark Hagen’s wife.  “This belongs to someone else.  I know it will be in good hands, please take it.”  Mrs. Hagen was obviously touched.  She asked my name.  I told it did not matter and that my first name is Danny.  “Thank you, Danny” she said.  It felt like the right thing to do.

That is not why I believe the Indiana Hoosiers will beat the Ohio State Buckeyes.  I think the Hooisers are that good.  I do.  Depth, turnovers, missed tackles, missed assignments, all of that matters. I know.  But I also know that when the time is right, those things will work out.  IU has been close many times.  I was hopeful.  I was not optimistic.  This time, however, I BELIEVE.

Week # 3 College Football Predictions   Season records 21 good 7 bad.

Indiana beats Ohio State…and I will do my best Keith Jackson when they march into the end zone again and I will say the Marching Hundred is going to be tuckered out this after this one from playing the school song so much.

Washington State beats Houston…Battle of the Cougars.  And some fun football to watch.

Georgia beats Arkansas State…Silver Britches and Lewis Grizzard.  Make me want to get on all fours and bark a little.

Tennessee beats Chattanooga…They dern well better.

NC State beats West Virginia…Trip to Morgantown may be tough.  I’d stay in Raleigh.

North Carolina beats Wake Forest…At Wake?  But Coach Mack is on a roll.

Penn State beats Pitt…The back yard brawl is back as it should be.  Classic matchup.

Alabama beats South Carolina…Why do I even put this here?

Northwestern beats UNLV…I am rooting for the Rebels.

Ole Miss beats Southeastern Louisiana…Rebs need another victory after beating the Hogs.

Clemson beats Syracuse…See the Alabama comment.

Marshall beats Ohio…Great rival game here too.  Herd is not bad.  Ohio always pesky.

Purdue beats TCU…Defensive woes for PU may stink the place up?

Oklahoma beats UCLA…Struggling at UCLA.  Hate to see that.

Stay cool if you can.  This unseasonable heat is not good for football.

Celebrate and we’ll be back with picks next week as we…

Speak the rights.

Danny Johnson