Great Ball Handling-On and Off the Field!

I spent several hours last night under the famous Friday Night Lights in central Texas. Our Dawgs were ridiculously victorious with a 65-6 win. Our band sounded great and the kids who run with the spirit flags after touchdowns burned approximately 6,000 calories each, since they sprinted holding 10 pound flags 8 times (seven touchdowns and one safety).

It was a great night in Dawgville for sure! But to me, the most interesting thing happened before the game even started. The early fans had been in the stands watching the pre game warm ups of each team, feeling a little chilly in the 93 degree air (our daily highs have been 100+ for several days). We stood for the school song, had a seat, and rose again later for the National Anthem. It is tradition at the Dawg Pound for the spectators to sing the anthem, and our beloved announcer often adds, "Let's sing loud enough for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to hear" which is technically impossible, but brings a tear to my eye every time, especially in our military community.

Anyway, we rose for the anthem. We sang, or at least others around me sang and I lip synced/whispered because my friend who can really sing was in front of me and I didn't want her to hear my voice. I am generally a very irreverent person, but I am all business during "The Star Spangled Banner". It gives me much pride and also humility to be able to live in this country, that, for all it's faults, is still the best thing going in the world.

Apparently, the anthem means something a little different to the people two rows in front of us. As the music started, the wife had her right hand over her heart and her left arm around her husband (which if you want to get technical about it, is already a violation of proper etiquitte, but not nearly as big an infraction as she was about to commit).

As the song progressed, she began squeezing his butt, and before "the home of the brave" she was reaching between his legs and cupping his balls. Right there. In the Dawg Pound. In front of hundreds of people, some of them children. During the national anthem! Again, I'm not a prude, but I could not believe what I was seeing. Because of the sanctity of the moment for me, I did not alert anyone else to this activity. Post anthem, I asked my friend if she had seen something unusual (because I see weird stuff like this all the time and I find it comforting to have a back up just in case I might be crazy) and her response was, "Looks like something other than just the flag got raised."