Super Bowl, Overlapping Years, and the Difference A Few Terms Can Make

Welcome Year of Here.

I've known for some time that my theme for this year has been something to do with plants, peoples, and places native to North America (more about that and where it came from throughout the upcoming year).  Once Kansas City made it to the Super Bowl, I knew I would write about the overlap* by talking balls and Chiefs at the same time.

Then, this past weekend, I spent some time discussing phrasing with friends and we didn't come up with any name, whether "YoNAN!" (Year of North American Natives) or "Indigenous!" that didn't feel as if had the potential for being cringe-worthy mascot-y.  We settled on dealing with a sense of place, particularly this place, and Year of Here came out of that conversation.

Year of Here is much better in many ways, and I can see some many ways to take it (and will, of course, be asking for your suggestions) but the name weakened my first post.  I was intending to confront my continued support of the Kansas City Chiefs and the racism inherent even in "positive" mascots.  Of course, many people much more qualified than I have already written that much more eloquently than I could (here's one:  Much better than I could write piece on the racism of Chiefs. ). 

But if I am involved with Year of Here, my post can be more about geography of fandom and how much I prefer football to war.  It's like intending to talk about racism and instead choosing to talk about diversity.  It's related.  It's important.  It may be easier and more palatable.  But it is not the same thing.

So yeah, "I set out to do this one thing, but I couldn't articulate it, so I'm doing a variation that I can articulate better, but it is in fact not the same, and I can explain by analogy why they are different, but I can't actual add anything meaningful about either right now" is not a great way to start a new theme.  It is a reasonable reflection of where I am at.

Should you want to discuss, I'm open to listen**

And congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs.  I remember all 8 Super Bowls "my" team has played in, 5 hard losses and 3 wins, and I'm really glad that The Mister, has now had that experience, even if experiencing it from small town Oklahoma with young kids is quite a bit different from being in the place of the team (hey, wait, I could write about that in the Year of Here!). 

*Other overlaps-- birds and pies = magpies and chicken pie
pies to witches= Witch's Pie book, magical baking book and winter apple and groundhog pies
witches to balls = Imbolc pies, moon, sun and various orbs

**Unless you are going to tell me that it is a bad thing that the local scout crossover ceremony will not involve white teenagers dressing in Indian regalia because national Boy Scouts of America has banned the practice.  Or that the tomahawk chop is "just a chant" and doesn't matter.

Ball Party

The Groundhog Ball Party was to celebrate "all the other balls*" and somehow I became a person who decorates, and decorates with a selfie station.  We had arancini, meatballs, snowballs, cheese balls, gougeres, chocolate cake balls, tangerines, Jell-O balls, chocolate balls and cranberry ice balls.  The winner of pin-the-shadow on the groundhog won the Magic 8 Ball.
*Other than sports ball, dancing balls and testicles.

I actually followed directions to make gazing balls
or perhaps they are palantiri.

The topiary ball is on a glass ball with a glass
ball vase with flowers inside it.

Witching still happening

"Disco" Ball and Magic 8 Ball

Full Weekend of Sportsball-- Organizing 50 Teenage Boys and Other Impressive Things

We attended almost a half of a high school football playoff game Friday night and a college soccer conference championship on Saturday.  We also watched a KU basketball game, a KU soccer tournament game and the end of Monday night NFL game is happening right now.

Most of my Friday night observations were comparing football games here, now, to football games in suburban Denver in 1987 (shockingly, it was more fun then) but I did have a few actual ball sports thoughts.  Coaching, for instance, is entirely different in soccer, basketball and volleyball than it is in football.  Football is a game of strange logistics, and at high school that is really remarkable.  Getting fifty teenagers to pay attention to anything is really impressive.  Getting fifty people to go where you want them to go is tough.  Getting fifty guys to get on and off a field and lined in particular places is really quite something. 

It's also a good reminder that they could probably follow the instructions on their lab reports.

(And, for the record, the local high school football team won, so will continue with the play-offs. The KU basketball team won. The local university won the soccer conference tournament and will start NCAA Division II tournament next weekend.  KU soccer won and advances in the NCAA Division I Tournament.  The Broncos did not win, but I did not watch that collapse, and the Chiefs just did win.)

Looking for a ball (at which I won't lose my slipper)

I have not yet gone ballroom dancing or attended a ball as part of ball year.

I'm looking for suggestions as to where I could do either.

I anticipate The Mister joining me, so presence or absence of Prince Charming is irrelevant.

The best ball I can envision will 1) include actual dancing in ball gowns  2) not take itself too seriously (sneakers balls or adult proms welcome) 3) be affordable enough that my friends and I could go and 4) in support of a cause that I personally support.

Dropping the Ball but then Getting On the Ball for Ball Games

As part of ball year I planned to attend all sorts of ball games at all sorts of levels.

In the spring I attended minor league baseball, youth soccer, and college basketball.  Over the summer I attended 9 international soccer matches.

This fall.  Well, this fall I attended eight youth soccer games (missing four for BioBlitz Oklahoma and three for the Lego League competition).  I intended to go to semi-pro soccer, and high school sports, and lacrosse and field hockey and maybe even some rugby, and then it was crazy season with the 3,000 plants, so I dropped that ball.

BUT it turns out that the college at which I teach has a conference winning soccer team, so they are hosting the conference tournament on campus, starting tomorrow.  We'll attend if they make it to the finals on Saturday.  AND the local high school football team's regular season is over, but they have their first play-off game at home on Friday.  I suddenly feel so on the ball.

Ball Book-- The Crossover

Kwame Alexander's The Crossover is amazing.  A librarian friend suggested it for ball year and, despite her suggestion and it being a Newberry winner, I balked when I opened it and realized that it was written not only in verse, but 13-year-old basketball player first person narrator verse.
But it works.  I read it in a sitting or two and I cried lots.
Months later I started reading it with Dianthus one evening and while he was intimidated by the form, he went to bed and had finished it by the time we walked to school the next morning. He claims he didn't cry. Highly recommended for many of my readers, including my mother and mother-in-law, whether or not you are interested in junior high basketball.

I want to read more Kwame Alexander, but I think at this very moment I am going to go read Pride and Prejudice again as my favorite ball book for Mo'BallMoNo.

Mo'BallMoNo Begins

Recently I was telling someone about the seasons in my life ("spring semester" but it really is winter, groundhog day, spring semester and spring soccer, finals, field season, summer, back to school, crazy season, I survived crazy season, "Thanskgiving, finals and Advent", actual "holidays").

"Crazy season" lasts Labor Day to Fall Break and includes the time in which I teach double lectures, Aster and Dianthus's soccer seasons, and my field season.  This year I was also writing a promotion document and Dianthus was doing before-school Lego League during the same time.  While most of that is done, we haven't fully entered "I survived crazy season" because my students and I have only documented 1,917 of the the nearly 3,000 plants in a place where there were 44 last year.

BUT, I am back on the ball and thinking about ball things and things other than teaching and will blog again. 
In fact, I am so excited to blog again that I am calling it More Ball Month November (Mo'BallMoNo) and I have a lot to say.  That's right, I am so caught up that I am starting a month-long November project on the 11th, and then not really starting it now.

Balls soon.  In the meantime.  Cyclanthera dissecta (now C. naudiniana) after an early (Oct. 12) freeze and think about waging piece to remember the Armistice.