Like a lot of San Diego State fans, I’m not able to attend this years bowl game in New Orleans. Besides having plans for December 17th already it would have cost more than $1000 to attend. (airfare, hotels, tickets, food, etc.)

That’s why I was thrilled to see that the SDSU ticket office has made it possible for season ticket holders and the general public to buy tickets for the game and donate them to a deserving child* in New Orleans through the Marshall Faulk Foundation. (see above)

As a fan and supporter of Aztecs sports I wanted to partner with SDSU in selling their allotment of 9500 tickets. I’ve donated my ticket allotment to the Marshall Faulk Foundation and I am encouraging all fellow season ticket holders, Aztec Club members, alumni, and fans of the Aztecs to do the same.

Here’s the link to buy tickets to sponsor a child

Note: *To comply with NCAA rules on recruiting the ticket office has made it clear that tickets donated to the Marshall Faulk Foundation will not go to high school students. (Hence the works “child” and not “youth.”)

My dad took me to lots of games at Notre Dame. Later in middle and high school it became more about football than the other sports. But I have lots of fond memories of spending time with my dad at Notre Dame basketball, hockey, and football games. I even remember a couple baseball and soccer games along the way.

Even though no one in my family went to Notre Dame, we lived so close and experienced so much there, that I have a pretty strong connection to the campus. My friends and I rode bikes all over campus. (Don’t tell my mom!) We played hide-n-seek near the Grotto and skateboarded the trail around St. Joeseph’s Lake. We yelled and made echoes between the giant buildings and dared one another to go into the administration building. (aka Golden Dome) I spent hundreds of hours in the library (aka Touchdown Jesus) during my senior year of high school and still have 10-15 unpaid parking tickets for parking in the basketball coaches spot when he wasn’t there.

But most of my memories of Notre Dame are from Saturday’s in the Fall. My dad had a group of friends who put on epic tailgate parties. 75-100 people would hang out and party between 3 motor homes starting before dawn and going until dark. When I was really young we went to almost every game because you could always find a ticket for free or almost free. That changed in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Lou Holtz had them in National Championship form year after year. But I managed to find a way in to a lot of games in those days. My stepdad had a brother who was an usher who could sneak me in. I’d get to the stadium several hours before the kickoff and sit in his usher seat during the game. When it was too cold or I’d get bored I’d climb into the scoreboard and watch the game from that little window, listening to the TV cameramen shuffle their feet above my head as they operated the endzone camera. For a couple of years my stepmom was an MBA student and we had tickets at the front of the student section. During those years I got to go to the games it was too cold for my dad and stepmom to enjoy. Cemented in my memory for a lifetime is freezing my butt off and hunting for hot chocolate during the 1992 snow bowl.

San Diego State

There’s no comparing Notre Dame to San Diego State. Pretty much everything that could be different about the two schools is different. But what isn’t different is the proximity of where we live. I grew up about a mile from Notre Dame’s campus and my kids are growing up about a mile from San Diego State’s campus. So I want my kids to experience the campus. (Um, the positive sides of campus activities!) That’s why I’m commited to taking them to football and basketball games and other fun/educational things offered on campus for kids.

I’d love for my kids to build happy memories about a place with their dad. Just like my growing up around Notre Dame… every moment isn’t memorable and not everything is going to make a lasting impression.

What are you doing to build memories with your kids? What kinds of things did you do with your parents which built lasting memories? 

First, a patriotic start.

Then we honored Marshall Faulk as the team took the field

Then, the game started and SDSU laid an egg

• TCU marched down and got a field goal.
• SDSU got the ball back and due to a penalty drove it to the red zone, before botching a field goal attempt.
• They woke up from their slumber in the 3rd quarter and brought the game to 20-14 at the beginning of the 4th quarter.
• Then… Ryan Lindley showed why he will be playing in Canada next season and not the NFL. He telegraphed a couple of passes directly to TCU players, pretty much securing a loss.
• TCU dominated our defense for most of the game on 3rd down. I think they had 11 third down conversions in a row.
• Mix that stat with 4 turnovers and you get a loss every time.

That said, Megan and I had a good time. The stadium felt great with 44,000+ fans. I’m sure that will drop for the next game vs. Wyoming though. We shall see.

I took Paul to tonights game between SDSU & Washington State. Here are a random list of highlights.

• College football is officially “our thing.” Paul & Megan are really into going to the games with me. The game day experience always includes a trip to Rite Aid (to score candy/snacks) and a ride on the trolley.
• I love, love, LOVE spending this extended time with each kid at the games. And my evil plan seems to be working, they are both getting interested in sports. Paul was going to bed and told Kristen, “I can’t believe I spent 6 hours with daddy. It really happened!” (That’s why I added SDSU basketball & Padres baseball tickets to the mix, love going to the games with my kids. Worth every penny.)
• I still pinch myself at our season ticket locations. We’re on the 18th row, behind the home bench, and on the 47 yard line. Perfect seats if you ask me. I only wish I had 4 seats instead of 2. Loving my 3rd season as a season ticket holder.
• This was a huge game for San Diego State. I think a lot of people expected SDSU to get worse because Rocky Long took over for Brady Hoke. (Who went to Michigan) We are now 3-0 for the first time since 1981. Full of confidence– I’m eager to see how they do against Michigan next weekend.
• Washington State was very good offensively. But by the end of the game the Aztec defense was just teeing off on receivers, running backs, and the QB. The Aztec defense played great tonight against an overmatched opponent.
• Speaking of defense… there were some monster hits applied tonight by the Aztecs. I’m loving the intimidation factor I see. The QB was visibly shaken after a few hits. And a few WRs dropped passes because they looked up to see if the hit was coming. Love that.
• Ronnie Hillman was incredible tonight. 191 yards on 32 carries with 4 touchdowns. He’s one stellar running back. I’m looking forward to seeing him on the big stage next weekend. I hope he drops 200 yards with 5 TDs on a horrible Michigan defense.
• Ryan Lindley? I feel like his stock is slipping. Maybe it’s that his receivers aren’t that great. But he threw some awful passes in the 3rd quarter tonight.
• The crowd was huge tonight. And it was awesome that they got to see what the Aztecs can do against a quality opponent. 57,000+ in attendance is legit across college football. It seems that the basketball team has fed enthusiasm for Aztec football and that’s awesome.
• Of course, 20,000 of those tickets were just to see the Sky Show. That was great and way too loud as usual. I’m not sure why they need to make the event that loud. It would be 50% more enjoyable at half the volume from the PA system. But the show itself? Every time I see it I realize how much I love living in San Diego.

Today is opening day for my two favorite teams, Notre Dame & San Diego State. Here are my predictions on their seasons.

1. Notre Dame – The Irish have a tough schedule. The first five games are as tough a schedule as you’ll see anywhere because teams always “play up” for Notre Dame and their National TV audience. If you look at their order of schedule and the style of football each team plays… it’s really hard to adjust. This team is better, but not quite of the power to roll over teams just yet. I think they will handle USF today and Michigan next week, stumble at home to Michigan State and again at Pitt. But then go on a bit of a tear until and beat Purdue, Air Force, and USC. Then they will lose to Navy before beating Wake, Maryland, and Boston College. Then we’ll see how good they are in November at Stanford. If Andrew Luck is healthy they will be tough to beat. Overall- I’m seeing 8-4 and a trip to the lowest BCS game. (It’s about money, friends.)
2. San Diego State – Last season, the secret weapon was the defense which made the offense look better than they really were.. They’ve leveled up a bit on D. But I think the combination of Rocky Long (a defensive-minded guy) and the flip-flop from a talented WR core to an all rookie one will kill their ability to move the ball. Ryan Lindley is a great pocket passer. He’ll need to depend less on the long ball and more on short passes and screen with the weapons he has available. Ronnie Hillman, if he is healthy, is explosive and rips yards off in a Barry Sanders kind of method. He’ll got 2-3 yards at a time, then rip off 25 when you aren’t looking. That will all depend on their ability to spread teams out with WR and TE. The opposite of the Irish, they have some playing styles with opponents that will help them. Secret weapon of the Aztecs? Kicking. Holy cow they have guys who can kick it miles. Remember last years 88 yard punt in New Mexico? I think they’ll beat Cal Poly and Army before losing to Washington State, Michigan, and TCU. Then they’ll win four in a row against Air Force, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Colorado State. They’ll get pounded by Boise State and then beat Fresno and UNLV. As long as Hillman and Lindley stay healthy they will be 8-4 and play again in the Poinsettia Bowl.

Other thoughts on college football, in general.

We need to see some teeth from the NCAA. Both Ohio State and Miami deserve the death penalty. Their fans disagree. But the reality is that they completely ignored NCAA rules and made a mockery of the whole thing. I think USC got off easy and it’s awesome they can’t get ranked in the coaches poll. (If only Pete Carroll had gotten punished…)

I hope the Mountain West defectors get pounded this year. TCU lost to Baylor last night. I hope Utah loses 8 games in the Pac-12. And BYU has just become BY-Who? (Who do they think they are to go independent? They are no Texas or Notre Dame.) None of the Mountain West teams want to schedule them. (I see one MWC game on this years schedule. What’s that tell you about the cheating they do?) Speaking of, I heard Texas A&M is looking for a conference home. I hope they jump on the bandwagon for next season with Fresno State, Nevada, and Hawaii.

Is it the year of the Ducks? They sure are fun to watch. And I’d love to see the tomahawk chop back in prominence in Tallahassee. If you just look at the mascots… it’s a great year. Could it be a BCS game of the cowboys vs. indians? (Oklahoma State vs. Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl?)

I was happy to catch some of the game last Saturday. A big win for Notre Dame. And a great way to bring the game to a core group of awesome fans in the city that never sleeps.

Who would have thought that the college team in town would be the best team to play at Qualcomm Stadium this year? I know I didn’t.

I took Megan and Paul to the Aztecs game last night and had a blast. We didn’t get home until about 11:00 PM, but I think we’re slowly making Aztec fans out of them.

• They begged me to go early for the game so they could play in Aztec Village. (Bounce house, live music, food we didn’t buy, etc.)
• When I told them it’d be easier to just drive to the game… Megan put her foot down. “No daddy, the best way to go to the game is on the trolley. It’s faster and kids ride free.“
• The stadium is starting to fill with actual fans. Having 40,000+ for the fireworks show is one thing, but to attract 34,000+ for a game against a lesser opponent– we’re now getting somewhere.
• The football team now controls their destiny. If they win out they will win the Mountain West. But if they beat either TCU or Utah they will likely finish 9-3 and enjoy some respect going into the off-season. But 8-4 is now very likely. (I can’t see them beating either TCU or Utah.)
• I’m totally bummed that I’ll miss the Utah game. (I’ll be at NYWC in Nashville)
• I’ve officially decided to increase my season ticket order for 2011. Two tickets per game is now not enough. Anyone want to join me?
• Speaking of 2011. Rumor has it that we’re adding Boise State and dropping BYU. Toss in a game at Michigan with the fact that they are recruiting local talent like crazy (100+ local high school players on the field to watch warm-ups) and I think Coach Hoke is starting to capture lightning in a bottle.
• We all got a kick out of the streakers. The first one made it about 100 yards. The second one was a kid, he didn’t make it very far.

This weekend, Kristen is off to Chicago with Erin for a girls getaway. Since I’m traveling a little over 1/5th of 2010, she certainly earned some time to herself.

Kristen’s definition of a girls weekend is Thursday afternoon to midnight on Monday. I like her style.

As we compared notes leading up to this trip we determined that this is the first time Kristen has ever done anything like this. It’s been fun to hear her talk about the trip for the last month or so, all the places she wants to visit, and of course– all of our favorite food places she wants to enjoy. (We lived there for 8 years. She is busy satisfying cravings for Johnnie’s Italian beef and Oatmeal shakes from Irazu. I’m totally jealous.)

The flipside is that I’ve earned some solo time with Megan and Paul!

So far, so good.

I’m not going to lie. I love that I get this time to be with them like this.

Last night, over a healthy dinner of tacos, rice and beans, and chips… we talked about all sorts of drama at school. Apparently, Foursquare provides endless playground theater that I was previously unaware of. There are some kids who like to steal the ball and throw it over the fence. Yeah, straight thugging.

We don’t have overly adventurous plans for the rest of the weekend. Which leaves plenty of time to do what they love to do most. Relax and be kids.

• Thursday night I was impressed that I could make a healthy, well-balanced meal that they actually ate. Roasted fish, roasted apples, and whole grain rice.
• Friday was a marathon of driving as we went from school to the San Diego State ticket office back to the YS offices to the house then to dinner at Rubios. I felt like a soccer mom with all of that carting!
• Today we plan on going to the nursery so we can start seedlings of our winter garden, doing some weeding and cutting of grass, relaxing in the afternoon, then going to the Aztec game a bit early to enjoy some of the tailgate festivities before SDSU plays Colorado State tonight.
• Sunday, I hope to keep it simple. Church in the morning and then finish painting the dining room while the NFL games are on. At some point, Paul needs to do his homework.
• Monday, I’m just happy to get them to school. We will spend some time in the early evening making sure the kids rooms are clean(ish) before mom gets home.

Goals:

1. Quantity time.
2. No trips to the ER.
3. Keep the house clean.
4. Convince the animals to sleep in tomorrow for daylight savings time.
5. Create some memories.

When I decided to buy season tickets to San Diego State I have to admit that I did it on a whim. In 2008, they were horrible. But they got a new coach and I figured that for less than $100 per seat, I couldn’t lose.

My hope has always been that my kids would learn to love football the same way I learned to love football… on Saturday’s with dad at the stadium. Last season was a bit rough. The only thing the kids liked about the games was spending some time with me and our trip to Rite Aid to load up on candy to take to the game. This year, with the team noticeably better, they’ve started to get into it a tad more.

Last night was a huge win for the program. But it was also a huge win for Paul becoming a football fan. For a big chunk of the last five minutes of the game Paul stood on the back of the seat in the row in front of us, shoulder to shoulder with me, screaming “Defense! Let’s go Aztecs! Defense! Oooooo!” (And stuff like that.)

When we scored, he joined in the chorus of high fives. When we recovered the onside kick, he shouted YES!

It was a cool bonding time for us.

Here’s a couple of videos I took on my phone from the beginning. (I’ve got kind of a meme going)

National Anthem (Ahem, that’s not me singing, that’s the guys in front of me)

Football team taking the field

The video above is from 619sports.net. They are local sports nuts who have created a name for themselves by doing a local sports blog. I had a similar idea to do this in Romeo but never got around to it. Kudos to them for creating something out of nothing.

My little football heart got broken last night. First, San Diego State gave up a touchdown with 50 seconds left to giveaway a victory to #25 Missouri. That would have been their best start in 30+ years. Then, a few hours later, Notre Dame gave up a silly trick play for a touchdown to lose to Michigan State.

In both cases, it was about finishing the game. Both teams were sloppy. In one game, a lack of tackling discipline cost them the game. In the other, being over-aggressive cost them an embarrassing lose and landed them on Sportscenter for all the wrong reasons.

For those of us who lead, both games were a powerful reminder for finishing.

In life, just like in football, your last play leaves a lasting memory. No one cares how well SDSU or Notre Dame played on Saturday. We’ll only remember the embarrassing finish.

Do you have a strategy for finishing a project well?