It is no secret that I love college football. Being able to go and work the champ game is a privilege that I do not take lightly. I fully appreciate the exclusivity and the honor it is to be able to go and be a small part of it. When I wasn't able to go last year, I put on a brave face and told myself it wasn't going to be the same anyway, so it will be ok to miss it. I lied to myself. It got to game day and something was missing. Getting updates from Christa was nice, but it wasn't the same. I decided then that if I get the opportunity to go again, I would. I also decided to approach it differently than I had in the past few years. I think it's easy to take things for granted that you don't think you're going to lose. I decided I wouldn't take it for granted again. I was going to do whatever I was asked to do. I was going to take it in more and look at things differently than I had in past years. I also decided to say things to people I wouldn't otherwise say.
When Gina first asked us to come help with the champ game, I was pumped for the access. That is fun don't get me wrong. I don't take it for granted that during the most important moments of these games, I'm on the field while it's going on. The thing I didn't know is how important the other people that come help with this game would become to me. I've become friends with people from all over the country that I otherwise would never have crossed paths with. When Gina decided to change career paths, I wasn't sure what the future would hold for Christa's and my involvement with this game. When a change like that happens, people tend to bring in their own people. When Katie Cavender took over for Gina, I didn't know what she would think of me. I knew what she would think of Christa, but me not so much. The thing that happened was Katie became like a sister to me. It's hard to explain, but I felt like I had known her for a long time. I think the thing that I admire most about Katie is how much she cares about her people. The kids she brings in for social content, for video, for all of the stuff that you see that isn't on ESPN, is her and her people. Her brothers are a blast and I can tell that they love her and are fiercely loyal to her. That stuff isn't fake. And it came out of nowhere. I don't believe in accidents. I believe that God puts people in my path that He knows I need. And vice versa. I was going to start listing people here, but thought better of it because there are a lot people and I don't want to forget anyone. If you've been to this game to work it and we've spent anytime at all together, I want you to know that I appreciate you and am very glad that I know you. If you're here in phoenix anytime soon, our door is open. I'll smoke some meat and we can hang out.
The other thing I love about all of this, is seeing Christa do her thing. Her ability to organize and get people to follow her is amazing. I think this game and the behind the scenes operation of this game is one of the things that makes her soul sing. She juggles a thousand things and keeps a great attitude about all of it. It's also the only time of the year that I get to be alone with her and it's a great reminder to me that there was the two of us before it was the four of us. Don't get me wrong, I love the four of us more than anything, but I enjoy the two of us quite a bit as well. Christa deals with brand new people at this game every year, and at the end of it, people have always become quit fond of her. I say it all the time, she's the best. I don't tell her enough. I don't show her enough. But seemingly every new person she comes across seems to have the same reaction. Eight years, eight different games. Eight different groups of people become very close with my wife. It's amazing.
As long as they keep letting me, I'm going to keep coming to this game. Even if they take away my access, I'll keep coming. It's become bigger than this game that I love so much. I absolutely didn't expect the people that became the thing, but they did. Hopefully, all of the ones this missed this one, will be in LA. I missed you.
