a crazy joke

I made a joke the other day that made my husband laugh—a first for me. To mark the occasion I’m going to let you, the reader, in on it. Conveniently enough, my post for today will also focus on the topic of this joke. 

My husband and I went to a Husker football game this past weekend. If you know me, you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that I’m really not that in to football. But I have to admit, despite the chill in the air it was fun to be a part of the mania in the stadium that day. For the most part, I just enjoyed sitting with my main squeeze and taking in all of the sights. 

There were a few things I did not enjoy, the obvious one being that I was too far away from the restroom. But there was another thing that kind of got to me—the cat-calling going on all around us, which of course, is nothing new to anyone who’s ever been to a Husker football game. 

At times the derision was mild mannered, “Man, I can’t believe he dropped that pass.” But sometimes the cat-calling got downright nasty—the cover-your-children’s-ears kind of nasty. For the most part, we were surrounded by the more benign cat-callers.

After awhile, however, I did get a bit frustrated with all of it; even the mild mannered calls were grating on my nerves. That’s when I turned to my husband and joked, “I didn’t know so many of these fans played college football.” At first he gave me a puzzled look. Then catching on to what I was saying he responded, “Yea, I didn’t realize that so many of the players were female.” 

I suppose if I have to explain it, it’s really not that good of a joke. But, indulge me anyway. And if you’re totally lost, wait for my analogy coming up in the next paragraph. The point I was trying to make, of course, is that age-old problem of everyone thinking that they can do the other guy’s job better. On game days it is an ideology that runs rampant across the country. 

And it bugs me to no end that people think like that. It reminds me of a good quote from one of my mom’s  favorite novels, To Kill a Mockingbird. Remember when Atticus Finch told his daughter, Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

Even if you’ve never read the book, I think the meaning is pretty clear here. In a lot of ways it’s a bit like, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” 

The Mockingbird quote has stayed with me all of these years. And, while I haven’t always practiced the principle, it’s one I strive to remember when I’m tempted to judge someone on the sole basis of what my eyes can see.

Take, for example, a situation we’ve all encountered; the token toddler freaking out in the grocery store. When I encounter one of these not-so-pleasant situations, the first thought that I’m tempted with, is ‘What a bad mother, she can’t even control her own child.’

But what do I really know about a situation that only my eyes can see. What if in reality the kid is screaming because Mom said, ‘No,’ to a toy he really wanted, and she knows that giving in will only make the next tantrum worse. I think we’d all agree that the right thing for her to do is stand firm until Junior learns that Mommy’s not backing down.

To the outsider the whole scene is abominable. But could they have seen what transpired moments earlier they’d understand that while it is ugly, it’s a natural part of parenting. Mom is teaching her child; you can’t always get what you want when you want it.

Let’s go back to that football game and the last couple of penalties that gave Illinois an extra touchdown. Yea, it was a coaching mistake. But what if the coaches were simply trying to get as many “new guys” in as they could and in the confusion, bad things happened. Just because bad things happened, did they make the wrong decision? I guess I’ll leave that up to you. 

By the way, if you think you could have done better, be sure and send me a picture of the last college football team you coached. I’d love to see it. I’m sure you were amazing.