This. Is. Michigan.

Yes. It is over four and a half months until official kickoff, but with the spring game this weekend, I cannot help but get a little, and by little I mean extremely excited about the upcoming football season. No other sport quite does it for me like football. If you would have asked the ten year old version of me what my favorite sport was, I most certainly would have responded basketball. But over the years, basketball and I have slowly drifted further apart. Football took advantage of that opening and for the last eight years, has been my sport.

Ever since my father took me to Spartan Stadium (he's an alum) as an eleven year old, I experienced the greatness of football Saturdays in college towns. I lived for those crisp October afternoons with the leaves slowly changing, spent tossing a football with my father on our way to the stadium. As I grew older, my passion for football and its culture intensified. I can think of no place I would rather be on any given Saturday in the fall than in Ann Arbor, preparing to walk to the Big House (I guess any SEC school would probably work just fine too). It honestly is one of my few regrets about attending Hope. I did not feel the connection to the team or the school as I would have at any larger institution. Sure, they did play football games here on Saturdays, but it just wasn't the same. My vain attempts at even tailgaiting here could not recreate the experience of a football Saturday in Ann Arbor. I rarely stayed for more than a quarter, nearly always opting to head home and watch whatever game was on television.

As each new season nears, I always get the same feeling. This is our year. This year is no exception. There is just something special about football. Each and every game matters. One loss wrecks conference and national championship hopes. As the upcoming months move on, football is that much closer. I can almost smell the late summer air on that first day of the season. It's something special.

"A Tradition Unlike Any Other"

In case, you've been living under a rock the past few days, it is officially Masters weekend. While I have always loved playing golf and the culture surrounding it, it has not been until recent years that I can say I truly enjoy watching golf on television. I cannot wait for weekends when I am thirty, forty, fifty, and older, spent sitting in front of the television enjoying a libation or two and taking in one of the world's most beautiful sports. There is just something relaxing, something wholesome about it.

Things I Enjoy About the Masters at Augusta National

• The Theme Song

Just like the golf, there is something pristine and beautiful about this song and the simple combination of the piano and flute coming together for a beautiful melody. It flat out just sounds like spring and seems to mirror the sounds of that first round out on the golf course.

• The Tradition

There are just so many: the green jacket, the near impossible task of acquiring passes, and best of all, Rickie Fowler being told to turn his hat forward at Thursday's press conference. It embodies tradition, which I am a huge supporter of. Things rarely change. Until recently, the waiting list for passes dated back to 1971. This isn't something anybody and their brother can attend. Attending the Masters, even if only for a practice round, ranks quite high on my bucket list.

It seems there is no other place where tradition and in a greater sense, the integrity of the game of golf, are as well kept as at Augusta National. In an age where even the longest held traditions have crumbled to political correctness, it is inspiring to see an organization stick to its roots (however misguided you may believe them to be) as Augusta National Golf Club. And don't even get me started with the green jacket...such symbolism and recognition with the Masters. Many a time I have stumbled upon a green sportcoat at various resale shops, only to place it back on the rack each and every time.  If I haven't won it over the four days at Augusta, I don't feel fit to wear it. Just another instance of the amount of respect and integrity that is showcased at the Masters.

And finally, the memories (two of my favorites)

• While not the biggest fan of Lefty, this shot on 13 in 2010 took an incredible amount of courage and probably some stupidity, two traits I admire out on the course. The announcer captures it perfectly when he states "this might be the tournament". Truly a game changing performance. I really cannot explain how I react to this video, other than that it encourages me to try any shot on the golf course, although probably not with the same result. Absolutely incredible.
• Granted, I wasn't alive for this one, but Jack's win in 1986 is still every bit inspiring. At the age of 46, the Golden Bear seemed a bit outdated for the tournament. But his back nine 30 won Nicklaus his sixth Masters. 25 years later here in 2011, will we see another comeback like Jack's. While I am all for the young guns on the tour, it always makes me proud to see someone like Fred Couples on the leaderboard.

With two days left in the Masters, I can only imagine what is in store. Will number 75 yield as much magic as number 50 did in 1986? Time will only tell. But that is the thing at Augusta National....time seems to stand still. Things have not changed much, if at all, over the years. Unlike many other events, the Masters has stood the test of time. I cannot wait to walk the course someday, taking in every last moment.

"My goodness. There is life in the old Bear yet."





Twelve Hours Out of Mackinaw City

Right now, I am four hours and twenty eight minutes out of Mackinaw City. Nearly my entire being wants to be about forty eight minutes out of Mackinaw City back home in Petoskey. I don't know what it is. College is coming to an end in five weeks; times are changing. No matter how fast everything is moving around me, time always seems to slow down up north. Petoskey has been the one constant in my life. I can almost taste that first Oberon during a late night round of golf, can almost feel the crisp cool water of Walloon Lake, and can almost hear Neil Young playing from the stereo on the back deck. Everything associated with summer and Petoskey is quite close.

However, summer means that my life is going to change. The stability of college will be removed as I hopefully join the workforce. What I wouldn't give to be Bob Seger hopping on his Honda 1100 in Rochester, Minnesota (which is twelve hours out of Mackinaw City) without a care in the world. Nothing but Mother Nature and the open road. No meetings, no computer, no cellphone. Life would be so simple. Petoskey is as close as I get to that freedom, that simplicity. I would be more than happy spending the rest of my life cleaning golf clubs and caddying at Bay View and enjoying each and every summer night. That would be the life.

Stood alone on a mountain top

Starin' out at the great divide

I could go east, I could go west

It was all up to me to decide

-"Roll Me Away" by Bob Seger