Lost my dad to old age (98) this July. He was a lot of great things, but the best thing was that he was a football junkie. He loved the local team and was rewarded with a state championship this last year. He was a college football fan, too. The first college football game I ever went to was Mississippi State v. Memphis State. We made the two hour drive to Starkville, but I was heart broken that State lost to Memphis, but I was hooked. I bought a pennant that day and kept it on my wall til it wore out. I will miss talking football with him this year. Any Dad and football tales out there?
Dad moment
- Thread starter dog99walker
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Mine started taking me to high school games I'm guessing around age 4. Took me to my first college game when I was 6 and from then on we went to countless numbers of games across the SEC. We saw together MANY losses from about 1968 - the 80's but saw some decent football also starting in the 90's through the end of his life in '07. We traveled together to '91 Liberty vs AirForce, '93 Peach vs NC TarHeels, '95 Peach vs NC St, '99 Peach vs Clemson, '92 Austin TX for the Longhorn game, and countless games in Jackson and Starkville over those years. We tailgated before we even knew what that was, stopped on the way out of town from S MS to wherever we were headed to and bought a pack of sandwich meat, loaf of bread, some cookies, fruit, drinks and were on our way. We NEVER ONCE went to Oxford for a game and to this day I have never been to a State game there. Definitely most of my favorite memories w/ him were at MSU football games. I continued the tradition taking my two kids to just as many, our trip to the Gator and victory over Michigan is one of my favorites with them and they till this day (both in their 30's) still come and go to games and are now bringing the grands to games.
I'll NEVER forget the '14 game against Auburn. I stood in the street in the Junction by myself tears running down my cheeks as a grown *** man in my 50s looking up and thinking about how damn happy he would have been to see that game after all of the terrible games we saw together.
Sadly now and for about the last 7 years, my "give a damns" about college football are about gone. I just don't like what college football has become and don't plan on being much of a part of it. I still enjoy getting together with friends and tailgating most every game but my taste for football is tainted (and I know his would be too) and that's a shame after me being such a fan for so long but I just can't wrap my arms around it and care any more..........Hail State dad
I'll NEVER forget the '14 game against Auburn. I stood in the street in the Junction by myself tears running down my cheeks as a grown *** man in my 50s looking up and thinking about how damn happy he would have been to see that game after all of the terrible games we saw together.
Sadly now and for about the last 7 years, my "give a damns" about college football are about gone. I just don't like what college football has become and don't plan on being much of a part of it. I still enjoy getting together with friends and tailgating most every game but my taste for football is tainted (and I know his would be too) and that's a shame after me being such a fan for so long but I just can't wrap my arms around it and care any more..........Hail State dad
Condolences. Sounds like you had a great one! Mine is still around but watching him age is tough.
Man, I hate seeing this and I’m terribly sorry for your loss.
Oddly enough, my very first State football game was against Memphis State too, and I don’t know that I have a specific story to tell, but something tells me that my relationship with my dad is very similar to yours.
My earliest football memories are of us warming up a pizza so that we could get settled in the living room to watch Monday night football, and we rarely ever missed watching a televised State game together. As I got older and had kids of my own, of course we didn’t get to watch nearly as much together as back then, but there’s something indescribably special about the few moments that we do have.
Sometimes, we’re just cracking jokes about how bad we are, sometimes we talk about other things while we watch, and sometimes we just sip bourbon and don’t say anything at all. Either way, I can always tell that he enjoys the time as much as I do, and I do my best to cherish it.
My sincere condolences to you, but it makes me smile to know that we have one more good guy cheering our dawgs on from up above
Oddly enough, my very first State football game was against Memphis State too, and I don’t know that I have a specific story to tell, but something tells me that my relationship with my dad is very similar to yours.
My earliest football memories are of us warming up a pizza so that we could get settled in the living room to watch Monday night football, and we rarely ever missed watching a televised State game together. As I got older and had kids of my own, of course we didn’t get to watch nearly as much together as back then, but there’s something indescribably special about the few moments that we do have.
Sometimes, we’re just cracking jokes about how bad we are, sometimes we talk about other things while we watch, and sometimes we just sip bourbon and don’t say anything at all. Either way, I can always tell that he enjoys the time as much as I do, and I do my best to cherish it.
My sincere condolences to you, but it makes me smile to know that we have one more good guy cheering our dawgs on from up above
My dad’s still with us but we’re well beyond the time of him attending every game.
Absolutely the thing I miss most is the 1:45 drive home after games.. especially basketball and baseball where it was usually just the two of us and we rehashed the entire game endlessly.
I know a 10 year stretch we never missed a home basketball game. Even though it would be nearly midnight getting in on Wednesday nights and we talked all the way home he would be up and gone to work in a coat and tie by 6am.
Absolutely the thing I miss most is the 1:45 drive home after games.. especially basketball and baseball where it was usually just the two of us and we rehashed the entire game endlessly.
I know a 10 year stretch we never missed a home basketball game. Even though it would be nearly midnight getting in on Wednesday nights and we talked all the way home he would be up and gone to work in a coat and tie by 6am.
My dad passed in 23. A former HS football coach, he was one of the earliest football refs in MPSA. For years we waited up for Daddy to get home from Columbia, Natchez, Liberty, Georgetown, McComb, Centreville and other small SW Mississippi towns on Friday nights. When I turned 25, I began a rewarding 25 year officiating career that took me lots of the same places. I even called a couple of his Jr. High football games while he was coaching at Prentiss Christian.
Those are some of my fondest memories of my dad.
Those are some of my fondest memories of my dad.