Hawkeye Memories

The 500 word essay that I submited to Hawkeyesports.com regarding Hawkeye memories in an attempt to win tickets to Iowa football and/or basketball games...if I win, I'll let you know!

I love sports. Football is my favorite. The Iowa Hawkeyes are my favorite team. This has been the case for as long as I can remember. I grew up east of Iowa City, in the same hometown of former Hawkeye great Marv Cook. My parents are both University of Iowa alums. I would usually get to go to one Hawkeyes game each season as a child, but I always watched them on TV. Nick Bell was the first player that I recall being my favorite, but other favorite Hawkeyes from my childhood included: Vernon Rollins, Damien Robinson, Sedrick Shaw, Tavian Banks, Bashir Yamini, Jerry Montgomery, and Fred Barr before my age equaled that of the players on the roster.

I was fortunate to be an undergraduate at the University of Iowa while Kirk Ferentz was re-establishing Iowa as a regular Big Ten contender. I had season tickets and I never missed a home game. Actually, my fondest memories of college took place while attending Iowa football games on the road in places like Minneapolis, Madison, Champaign, Miami, and Orlando, but those memories are longer than 500 words would allow. After graduation I moved to Davenport and gave up my season tickets as I became a graduate student taking Saturday class. Nonetheless, I still followed the Hawkeyes. My wife and I would travel to Iowa City for a handful of games each fall, and I would watch the rest on TV. Even when occupied by class, during games I would receive play-by-play text messages keeping me updated.

This year, however, I was done with graduate school. My wife and I purchased season tickets. Expectations for the season were the highest they’d been in my adulthood. Not only was 2010 going to be great because Iowa was going to contend for the Rose Bowl, but it was going to be great because my wife and I were expecting our first child on October 13th! The pregnancy was going well; my wife was a trooper going to the Iowa State, Ball State (staying through the rain), and Penn State games with me. After the Penn State game, I thought that I was in the clear! There were 20 days until Iowa’s next home game, and surely our son would be born prior to that. My son, knowing how much his Dad loved the Hawks was timing his entrance perfectly! Then the due date passed. The Michigan game came and went. My attendance at the Iowa/Wisconsin game was questionable. My wife agreed that if we were out of the hospital before Saturday, I could go to the game. We had Ryne on Thursday, the 21st. We were in the hospital on the 22nd, and we left around 10am on the 23rd. I decided to skip the game; I would be watching the Iowa/Wisconsin game with my family in our home. Unfortunately Iowa lost, but I’d never been in such a good mood after a loss due to the presence of my newly born son!

I'm not sure if I will win, but I'm pretty sure that I should win.

Christmas Movies

Like the song says Christmas, "it's the most wonderful time of the year!" Spending time with family, Christmas shopping, all of the lights (wish I could make some sort of connection to the Kanye West song that goes by this title, but there is unfortunately zero connection), the one time during the year when snow is tolerable, giving, the sending and receiving of Christmas cards with people that you haven’t found time to communicate with often enough, the decorations, the smells produced by Christmas trees and baking Christmas treats, the time off of work (sorry if this does not apply to you!), bowl season, the NFL playoffs starting to take shape, the Bulls back to playing on Christmas day, and wearing Christmas ties are amongst the many reasons why I love this time of the year. However, the intent of this entry is to elaborate on a recent Facebook status of mine, “My five favorite Christmas MOVIES,” because I LOVE staying in when it is cold outside and watching Christmas movies with my family (and a glass or two of red wine and/or dark beer).

Honorable Mention: Bad Santa, Elf, and Home Alone

5.) Family Stone: this is my guilty pleasure on the list. It is funny, it is serious, and it is sad. Like the late, great basketball coach Jimmy Valvano said, there are three things that you should do every day: think, laugh, and cry; this movie can bring you to all three of those things.

4.) Four Christmases: two reasons why I like this movie – 1) to a degree this is what Amy and I do each year, and 2) Vince Vaughn. Anything that Vince Vaughn says is funny due to his delivery. The best two parts of this movie: “Woman! Do your job and swaddle this baby!” This was all I knew about swaddling babies prior to Ryne. And, “I'm gonna vomit. I'm about to throw up. Oh, God. I'll get sick. I can't be here. Take it away from me. I'm sorry. I love you. You gotta get out of here. I can't breathe.”

3.) Die Hard (One & Two): one reason John McClane. He is the baddest fictional character ever who isn’t a superhero (second only to Batman). I remember seeing, and loving, Die Hard Two in the theaters on a rainy day when I was seven while vacationing to Lake Okoboji.

2.) It’s a Wonderful Life: classic. It really is a wonderful life for us all. Unfortunately, Clarence is not available to show all of us the little, subtle things that we do/have in our lives that are appreciated, enjoyable, and meaningful. However, when we slow down and take a step back to reflect, it is evident that our lives are meaningful to many others around us.

1.) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: this is the end goal. I want to go out with the family and cut down a tree from a tree farm. I want to host the family for Christmas (prerequisite: owning a larger home). I want to dress the house in lights that attract a crowd. I want to go sledding very fast down very big hills (though preferably not into traffic and/or Wal Mart parking lots). Through all of their faults and flaws, the Griswolds are a great family; a family that wouldn’t be horrible to model.

(Three favorite “Holiday” themed TV episodes/shows: A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Seinfeld – “The Strike” (which should be renamed to the Festivus episode))

Reading is FUNdamental

Before I begin...Ryne is now smiling from time to time!

There are MANY things that I hope Ryne will achieve/experience in his lifetime. First and foremost I want him to be happy and healthy. I would like for him to be well educated throughout his life, and well employed once he is an adult. Yes, I would like for him to be a world class athlete (or just an athlete for that matter), but that would just be icing on the cake; I honestly feel this way – Ryne could chose not to participate in athletics, and I would be fine with that. Although, hopefully he will at least choose to take an interest as a spectator of sports…

Anyways…I really hope that he becomes an avid reader. I love to read. Reading is enjoyable. Reading is relaxing. Reading is how you educate yourself. Reading is the sign of a life long learner. These days, life long learners are what we try to create in schools.

Prior to Ryne being born, I would read (usually) every night before going to bed for about half of an hour. I would (usually) finish about a book a month. I still read, it is just harder to find the time to read for long stretches of time.

I realize that I have many obligations as a parent while raising a child. Amongst the obligations, I feel obligated to model reading and I feel obligated to read to my child. I do read to Ryne, but I feel as though I should be reading to him more. It is hard to read to someone who is still too young to show too much reciprocal interest. However, he will sit and listen and stare at the pages if you catch him in the right mood; I LOVE to read to him when I can catch him in the right mood!

Ryne has a quite large book collection, considering he is still less than two months old. My favorite books to read to him are Where the Wild Things Are, The Giving Tree, and during Christmas season How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I can’t wait to steal a Griswold family tradition and begin reading The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve! I also enjoy reading the little cardboard books to him that contain facts about my favorite sports teams (it is NEVER too early to learn; Amy even usually learns a thing or two when I read these to Ryne).

Sometimes I will even read whatever it is that I am reading to Ryne. The fathering book that Amy gave me told me that babies liked to be read Sports Illustrated because of the colorful pictures (YES!) so I do that sometimes. On occasion, I will read him articles from the newspaper and the internet. When he was first born I was reading a book by John Wooden, and I read him the little anecdotes/life lessons that it contained.

Currently, (and this is kind of funny, to me) I am reading a book about the greatest team that I’ve ever seen – the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. This was my favorite team ever (and during this particular year my favorite player was Dennis Rodman), I think that my family probably watched a majority of their 82 regular season plus playoff games! I regress, last night I read aloud a few of the chapters to Ryne. Unfortunately this is not a picture book, but I noticed that Ryne was staring intently at the cover. I kind of thought (hoped) that he was staring at the front cover as there is a collage of the different Bulls on that cover. However, it seemed he was staring at the back cover…a picture of Dennis Rodman…in drag. Oh well, I think it is kind of funny…but maybe I should stick with cardboard picture books.

Thanksgiving

I have written and then re-written this blog numerous times, as I am finding it quite difficult to construct. I want to write a blog that speaks of all that I am thankful for with this being Ryne’s first Thanksgiving, but this is complicated because I have so much to be thankful for…where do I begin?!

I started to think of all of the things that I am thankful for, and the list looks something like this: my wife, my son, my family, my in-laws, my friends, my good health, the good health of those that I care about, my education, my intelligence, my employment situation, the shelter over my family’s heads, the clothes on my family’s backs, the food in my family’s mouths, the opportunities that I’ve had to travel throughout the United States and even some abroad travels, and even though they don’t matter – all of the material things that I own and enjoy. The list is pretty long, and I’m sure that it could be longer if I continued to think about it. I’m not going to ramble on telling you about how/why I’m thankful for all of these things, but I do want to go into detail on a few of them. As the holidays approach, and the year begins to come to a close, this (2010) really has been one of the most accomplished, enjoyable, monumental, successful, insert other adjective here years of my life!

My wife – I am thankful for everything about her. I am thankful that we shared a class together during the second semester in 2004 at the University of Iowa. I am thankful that she was raised to be such a wonderful person by such wonderful parents. I am thankful that she is beautiful on the inside and out. I am thankful that she is such a nice person to everyone even when she doesn’t want to be. I am thankful that she is an educator/teacher because I believe that is such a meaningful vocation. I am thankful that she, sometimes, thinks my, strange, sense of humor is funny. I am thankful that she has taken an interest in my number one interest – sports. I am thankful that she is such a wonderful mother to our son.

My son – I am thankful for Ryne. I am thankful that he is healthy. I am thankful that he eats plenty and eats well. I am thankful that he is pretty good sleeper. I am thankful that he appears to be content with life at this point in time. I am thankful that he never gets uncontrollably upset. I am thankful that he is so handsome. I am thankful that he is made-up from half of my wife and half of me. I am thankful that I get to come home from work to him (and my wife) each day. I am thankful that he was born into a situation where he has many people that love him, and will probably never have to go without anything that he really needs.

My family – I am thankful that I never had to question whether or not I was loved. I am thankful that I never had to go without anything that I really needed (or wanted, actually). I am thankful that I was raised to become who I am (because I like me a whole lot!).

My education – I am thankful for being born into a family that placed a value on education. I am thankful that (for the most part) I got something out of my educational opportunities (minus maybe the four years from my senior year of high school through the first three years of my undergraduate degree). I am thankful that I undertook the work necessary to complete my master’s degree when I did; even though it was not easy, and I could have easily found more enjoyable things to do with my money and time.

My employment situation – I am thankful for having a job. I am thankful for having a job that allows me to make a difference. I am thankful for enjoying my job. I am thankful for having a boss that I admire and enjoy working for. I am thankful for enjoying the school’s vacation schedule.

My new job has really made me more thankful than ever before for everything that I have in my life. A lot of the students in the building that I work in don’t have (on the surface) nearly the amount of things to be thankful for that I have. These students wear the same dirty, old, oversized or undersized clothes day-in and day-out. These students don’t get regular dental, health, or vision care. These students lack positive role models in their lives. These students rely on the unappetizing free breakfasts and free lunches that the school provides them with. These students don’t have their own space to go home to. Most of these students don’t have the traditional family structure in their lives. Many of these students have never traveled outside of the Quad Cities. These students come from homes where education is not valued, which will make school very difficult for them, which will make accomplishing things later in life nearly impossible for them. Going to work everyday and seeing these students everyday can be quite depressing. But that is one of the main reasons why it is so rewarding to work in education, and specifically to work in school like the one that I work in because you are able to help those in need.

And that is why I am so thankful this Thanksgiving. I can truly appreciate ALL that I have and be THANKFUL for ALL of it.

Baby's First Word and More!

Sorry this has taken me so long to write as it happened Sunday night…it is amazing how busy life has become with my new job, my family, and the heart of football season!

Sunday night, while laying in bed with my wife and my son, something miraculous happened! Ryne said his first word! (Okay, he probably didn’t actually say anything, but it was crystal clear to both Amy and myself as to what Ryne said). Without ever telling Amy what I heard, she told me what she heard, and what she told me was the exact same thing that I had heard. The word that we heard (sounding like Dr. Seuss) was…

…wait for it…wait for it…

…”Eric”

Yes, Ryne’s first (unofficial) spoken word on Sunday , November 14th at about 10:00pm was Eric (the name of his father). It made my night!

Speaking of making my night, do you want to know what one of my new favorite sounds is? It is when Ryne is put down on his little jungle mat for a moment by himself and you can hear him playing with/pushing/rolling his little ball that his a rattle inside of it. I love that he is taking the early initiative to play with the ball.

One final thing, for now, I love how much weight Ryne is gaining. As he approaches his one-month anniversary for entering the world, he has gained a pound and a half to total ten. He is a growing young boy (and that is going to cost his mom and dad), but you can’t coach/teach size! (I’m kidding about that, mostly kidding…) J

10 for 10

Just like ESPN has made 30 movies for the 30 years that they have been on the air, I have made a list of 10 things that I love about my son for the 10 days that he has been alive. They are, in no particular order:

1) When he stretches out his arms and his legs to see how long he really is

2) When he lays/sits on me with his legs bent up like a little frog and his arms partially wrapped around me

3) When he is awake and his eyes are wide open looking at his surroundings

4) Waking up early in the morning with him when he is very active

5) When he cries while being changed, I can pick him up and my bare hands on his bare body are enough for him to stop crying

6) How when I hold him it is calming enough to put him to sleep almost on command

7) Knowing that he is still innocent enough and young enough that he doesn't have anything that causes him prolonged or serious stress

8) I'm not artistic, I'm not creative, and I'm not inventive. But he is something that I - along with my lovely wife - created

9) When he just stares at me with his big, bright eyes when he hears my voice

10) How he kicks off his socks, breaks through his swaddle, and other similar things to show his displeasure for being restrained.

An Early Eye towards the Class of 2028

You all should have, by now, received a birth announcement from Ryne. Many other people received those birth announcements along with University of Iowa head basketball coach Fran McCaffery. Included with Fran's announcement was a note from Ryne; it read:

Dear Coach McCaffery:

My name is Ryne Ewald. For such a little guy, I am already a huge Iowa Hawkeyes fan and especially an Iowa Hawkeyes basketball fan. I may only be less than a month old, but already people are taking note of my big feet and hands and my long arms; traits that you can’t teach a basketball player. I am writing this to you for two reasons: one, keep an eye out for me on your recruiting radar in about 17 years. I promise that my first choice of where to play college basketball will be at the University of Iowa. Two, good luck this season; I’ll be cheering for you, and I am hopeful that I will make my first ever game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena late in the season.

Go Hawks,

-Ryne Ewald

Just yesterday, when I checked the mail Ryne had a letter addressed to him; Coach Caff wrote Ryne a return note! It read:

Dear Ryne,

Thanks for your letter and you definitely will be on my radar screen if people are already noticing your big feet, hands, and long arms.

Go Hawks!

Fran McCaffery (sorry, but I can't type his autograph!)

Head Basketball Coach

We will be pulling for Coach Caff and the Hawks this winter, even if it is a long one...in fact, Amy and me will be taking Ryne to his first (of many) Iowa basketball game at Carver Hawkeye Arena this year. We have plans to go see their home finale when they face Purdue the first weekend of March.

Go Hawks!

Routines

I am someone that relies on routines. I thrive on routines. Saying that I become flustered when one of my routines is altered might be an understatement.

One of my routines is waking up before anyone else, working out, and then having a large cup of coffee while reading the newspaper cover to cover. Usually, if I am asked to do anything else prior to these things getting done I am not going to be thrilled.

Anyways, my morning routines haven't quite been the same the past couple of days. I get up, still early in the morning, but I am no longer alone when I wake up. Going to the gym to workout gets done at various times later in the day depending on the day. I still drink my coffee in the morning, but it is cold by the time that I finish it. The newspaper gets read, but not nearly as quick; I read a sentence here and a sentence there, maybe a paragraph or even a short story at a time if I am lucky.

You see, I've been waking up with Ryne most mornings so far (prior to going back to work. In fact, now that I am back to work and Ryne is sleeping in a little bit later with his mom - I miss having him around in the mornings!) His presence has slowed my morning routine. But it doesn't ruin my day; far from it, actually. Having Ryne around has me smiling all day long.

Routines are great. They help children become acustomed to new situations. However, flexibility is also important and especially so for adults dealing with children. I'm very good at following routines, I'm okay (and getting better) at flexibility.

Some random thoughts

Some of you may remember that when I first noticed Amy in one of my elementary education classes, I was captivated by her looks and I knew right then and there while sitting from afar that she was “the one.” However, now that she has given birth to our lovely son, I don’t think she’s ever looked so beautiful through my eyes.

Going back to work is going to be hard for me to do. Just leaving the house for an hour to go to the gym, has me hurrying to get through my workout at a pace that I’ve never been able to keep before just so I can return home to Ryne as quickly as possible.

How did I get to be so lucky when it comes to life?

Just this month alone, I started a new job that would be considered a promotion. I, with my lovely wife, brought home a perfect son. The Iowa Hawkeyes beat the sixth (Penn State) and then the first (Michigan Wolverines) college football teams with the most wins all-time, in consecutive weeks! Furthermore, Iowa has a legitimate shot at upsetting the fifth ranked, and undefeated, Michigan State Spartans at Kinnick Stadium this weekend. It has been maybe the best month ever!

My life is really great! I often wonder why I deserve all of this.

Iowa lost last Saturday, to Wisconsin, in a game that they should have won. To make matters worse, the Chicago Bears did the same thing the following day on Sunday. Normally, these two things would have ruined my weekend and had me pouting into the middle of the new week. However, while I obviously would have preferred my teams to win, neither thing put a damper on the high that I was experiencing after bringing Ryne home.

Having a child really does put other things in your life into perspective.

I was always worried about how I would interact with Ryne once he was born as I didn’t have any real experience when it came to dealing with newborns. I thought to myself how I just couldn’t wait until he was older and we could do so many fun things together. Now that he is born and he is a newborn, I don’t ever want him to grow up! As Maurice Sendak wrote in Where the Wild Things Are, "Oh please don’t go- We’ll eat you up-we love you so!” That is how I feel about Ryne.

He is just so beautiful and precious right now. I love the fact that he depends on his mom and dad for everything. I guess he will continue to depend on us for everything for a long while, and as I reflect on my own situation it seems as though he will probably depend on us for some things for ever. I at least hope so.

Away We Go

This may be one of the shortest blog entries that I’ve written. At the same time, I don’t know that there has been an entry that has taken me more time to write. There is truly a lack of words for what it is that I am trying to say.

I was excited for Ryne to enter this world from the moment that I heard that he was coming, and I knew that I would love Ryne once he entered this world. However, I had no idea what to expect that excitement and love to feel like. That excitement, and that love are both unbelievable feelings. And that excitement and love have continued to grow each of the first four days that he has been alive.

Yesterday we brought him home, and that was a little bit scary. It was a little bit scary for Ryne; as I gave him the tour of our condominium and showed him his new dwelling

his eyes were wide with wonder. I can’t speak for Amy, but I know that it was a little bit scary for me as Ryne is really the only newborn that I’ve ever been around for an extended period of time. All of a sudden, this tiny little person was solely our responsibility. That is a heavy burden to carry for someone that you love so much. And while it is scary, I must say I think we’ll do great (furthermore, it is very comforting to know that I have a pediatric nurse, who I believe my son resembles, on speed dial that I am able to call at any hour – day or night…) when it comes to raising Ryne successfully!

Now we embark upon our unpredictable journey, and away we go…

Right on Time

I was right on time...the title of Buck O'Neil's autobiography; Buck O'Neil was a baseball player during the era of the Negro Leagues and early intergration into Major League Baseball. Buck O'Neil suffered many hardships during his baseball career as it was a less than ideal time for an African-American. If Buck O'Neil can say that he was right on time, I think that Amy, Ryne, and myself can make the argument that Ryne joining us in this wonderful world is also right on time - even if he was a little over a week late. Everything happens for a reason, the good and the bad. Everything happens when it is supposed to happen, even if it seems as though it is at a less than ideal time. It is my theory that if you are early, on-time, or late - those are the times that were destined for you. On Thursday, October 21st, 2010 at 12:42pm, Ryne Bailey Ewald was right on time. (Even if it does mean that I am selling my tickets to tomorrow's Iowa/Wisconsin game because that is the day we are coming home from the hospital. That was a tough decision, and hard to do. However, I am excited to watch the game with my new favorite Hawkeye fan!) Now the real fun begins! (Pictures and videos to come soon...)

The Final Countdown

"The Final Countdown": the song that Amy did some cheer routine to as a senior in high school (ha!), the song that Brothers plays (at least they used to, when I was in college) right before Iowa football games are about to begin, what Amy and I are going through as we patiently wait for Ryne to be born.

This will probably be my last blog before I begin fatherhood...let that settle in for a moment.

It does not seem like very long ago that Amy told me that she was pregnant. That was exciting, but pregnancy has a different feel for fathers and mothers. Mothers feel the changes and the growth; the fathers are able to see some of them, but it is not as personal as it is for mothers. I've been excited about being a dad since Amy told me that I was going to be one, but now it is getting real. I could, theoretically, become a dad within hours from now!

I must say, and I hope that this is an indication of things to come, my son seems to be extremely well behaved. My friend, Kip, said it best that, "Ryne knows not to mess with his dad on Iowa football Saturdays." I was a little bit worried (no, I'll be honest; worried a lot!) that Amy was going to go into labor soon before or during the Iowa vs. Penn State football game that was just played last night. She didn't. We were able to enjoy the game (I'll expand on this momentarily)/the Iowa victory! And now, Iowa has 13 days before their next game. Amy has 13 days to deliver our soon to be adored son. I must say, we planned this pregnancy very well! If you are going to do anything during the fall, which I would highly advise against, at least do it during the bye week...(I wish that I could say that I am joking within this paragraph, but that would only be partially true - sorry).

I said that "we were able to enjoy the game/the Iowa victory!" in my previous paragraph so let me tell you a little bit about what that means to me. And I'm not going to tell you what the victory means to me, but I want to tell you what Amy going to the game with me means to me. On the day of the game, Amy was 11 days out from her due date. That alone, from what I've heard regarding other women's pregnancies, would be reason enough for her to not want to go. We had to drive one hour to Iowa City; we walked around the stadium prior to the game, tailgating for a little while; we sat and stood in our seats for the entire game (plus about 45 minutes prior to kickoff) in what was definitely the most crowded that Kinnick has been this year; did I mention that it was a Saturday night game and that it was very cold so we had to dress in multiple layers; and then we had to drive an hour back home, not returning home until after midnight. She wanted to go; and even if she didn't want to go, she told me that she wanted to go. She didn't say that she wanted to stay home, and she didn't make me stay at home! I can not tell you how much that I thank her for this. This is one of the things that I love the most about Amy. You should see the way that the other people who have season tickets around us (and therefore have been sitting with us for the past month now) look at us. I'm pretty sure that they think that Amy is about the toughest woman alive; I'm pretty sure that they think that Amy is about the biggest Hawkeyes fan alive; and I'm pretty sure that they think that I'm about the luckiest guy alive to have a wife who obviously a trooper.

I hear of many women who at times may be demanding during pregnancy and very vocal about their uncomfortableness during pregnancy, but this has not been Amy. I know that she is very uncomfortable during pregnancy, but she does a pretty good job of concealing that fact from most people. I am very fortunate. This pregnancy has been very easy on me. Thank you Amy.

So now I'm all in. My attention is fully focused on Ryne entering the world. Let's have this baby; the sooner the better! (but for sure within the next 13 days! ;-))

Tough Loss Last Night

Growing up, becoming a sports writer is always what I wanted to do for a living. However, the less than ideal hours, the minimal pay most receive, and the lack of quality sports writing positions led me away from that path. I routinely read the message boards that discuss all things Iowa Hawkeyes related, but I never leave posts of my own as feel that many of the posts end-up sounding ignorant. So here I go; I'm writing this post for several reasons: 1) to get the feelings that I have from last night's tough loss to Arizona out of my head and off of my chest so I can go forward with my Sunday, and 2) because I've always wanted to write about this stuff for a living. If this isn't going to interest you, don't read it. I'm writing this post more so for me; sorry for being selfish.

Let me preface this with the following information. I am a huge Iowa Hawkeyes fan; I always have been, and I always will be. I have seen maybe two great Iowa football teams in my lifetime, several very good Iowa football teams, a lot of above average Iowa football teams, and yes, unfortunately, even some bad Iowa football teams. For the most part, I would say, that we would fall into the category of being above average; recently, we have been lucky enough for Kirk Ferentz to begin to lead us into the category of, almost, consistently being in the very good category. Where Kirk Ferentz has taken this program is great! It is great for recruiting better players, it is great for gaining exposure throughout the entire country, and it is great as a fan to see your team competing to win every single Saturday. However, when you are consistently good and expecting to win, losing hurts a little bit more.

Unlike some of the message boards and preseason prognosticators, I never envisioned this Iowa Hawkeye football team to contend for a national championship this year. To me, this idea was always too far fetched due to, mainly, three reasons. One, we won too many games last year that could have very easily been losses. Two, even though our schedule this season is favorable, there are too many good games that we would have to sweep. And three, we are Iowa; we've won one national championship ever (and even that, in 1958, was not an outright national championship), we tend to thrive without the spotlight shining on us, we are a state that does not have a huge population and that gives us a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting, and unfortunately my favorite teams just don't usually win it all!

All of that being said, when I looked at our schedule at the beginning of the year I didn't see any match-ups that I thought we would lose. Head-to-head, week-by-week I thought that we would win every game. At the same time I never thought that we would go 12-0. I figured we would lose at least two, maybe even three, possibly even four games; I just didn't know which games we would lose. I know now that Arizona is one loss. I think that we will finish the season at 10-2; still not sure who I think the other loss will be. Hopefully, if you are still reading, this paragraph hasn't confused you.

Now for some reaction to last night's (Arizona) game. First of all, it started horribly. ESPN could not find one of their million different channels to put the game on at the very beginning. It was very difficult to only see: a blocked punt, a touchdown, and a pick six without seeing all of the little things in between. Once ESPN finally did tune in, it was already 14-0 Arizona. Secondly, I know that there were a lot of Iowa fans there; however, that crowd, in the red with the white pom-poms was unbelievably intimidating (and it did not help that we let them go up 14-0 right off of the bat!). And third, I don’t want to hear about how hot it was.

We got outplayed. The better team, us, did not win; that sometimes, unfortunately, happens in sports. If we play this game 10 times, in Arizona even, we win over half of the time (I think). You must give credit to Arizona though, they came ready to play. We made too many mistakes: blocked punt, tipped ball that goes for a pick six, kickoff return for a touchdown, blocked PAT, and the three or four sacks in a row that we surrendered to end the game highlight a few of them. Even with all of those things going wrong (Murphy's Law - everything that can go wrong, will go wrong), we still tied the game at 27 in the fourth quarter. That speaks volumes to the resiliency that this team possesses. They never quit, and you have to congratulate them for that.

Two other notes. Prior to the last drive, I thought that our pass protection was pretty good. I even mentioned at one point in time, I thought that it was one of the highlights of our performance; how quickly that changed. Adrian Clayborn is my favorite Hawkeye. Adrian Clayborn is the best player we have on our team. However, Adrian Clayborn needs to be more consistently dominant with his performance/production. I thought that last night would be his breakout game for this season, I was wrong. I'm sure he will still have a great season, but I was a little disappointed with the lack of disruption that he caused last night.

We are 2-1, but more importantly we are still 0-0 in Big Ten conference play. My goal going into the season was to get to another BCS bowl game, and more specifically the Rose Bowl game. That is still my goal; nothing about last night's performance has altered that goal. The fact that I see fans talking about benching Ricky Stanzi, firing Kirk Ferentz and his staff, finishing the season 7-5 is ridiculous! Look at the body of work of Ricky Stanzi; what is he, 20-5 as career starter? That is 20 wins compared to five losses, I'll take that record any day. Look at the body of work of Kirk Ferentz; he should be given a life-time contract to stay at Iowa for as long as he pleases to do so. NEVER has our football program been consistently as prominent as it has been the past ten years. 7-5? Come on. I guarantee you that these are the exact same fans that were talking 12-0, national championship prior to the game. Relax, it is one game. Have faith that our players will rebound; they did in the second half. Have faith that our coaching staff will make adjustments and coach these guys up; they've done it in the past. As Kirk says, weather the storm - play through the highs and the lows. That goes for fans, too; there will be more lows this season, but there will be highs also. Try not to get too high, and try not to fall too low. As is his rule for the team - you've got 24 hours to either celebrate a victory or dwell on loss before you must flush it and move on.

I think this just officially flushed the loss for me; as I feel better already. Thanks for listening.

Is it Saturday yet?!

You are captivating to me because...

I guess I haven't ever really grown up. I still have heroes, and I am still in awe when I see certain people. Just ask Amy and Scott how fast I ran when I saw Mike Ditka at O'Hare. Just ask Kyle how nervous he was that I was going to make a fool of us by bothering Brian Urlacher when we were recently eating dinner at the same restaurant. But I don't care...I'll be the first person to tell you that I'm a dork when it comes to stuff like this.

Recently, when filling out a "get to know you" questionarre at work, in an effort to build relationships, I was asked who my role models are, who my mentors are, and who I look up to. I thought about that question. Multiple people came to mind that I look up to and model myself after, but the two names that I put down are people that I admire a great deal from afar. I answered the question by naming Kirk Ferentz and Tony Dungy. Yes, these two men are very successful/were very successful football coaches, but that is not why I chose them. I chose these two men because of how they act, how they lead the young men that they work with, and the values that they hold.

Tony Dungy was an excellent football coach. He leads quietly; he is not an extremely vocal man . He is a man with very strong religious faith. He serves as a mentor to young men that are going through adverse situations. He has a website (allprodad.com) that I frequent. This website is full of good advice for dads, future dads, and people in general. From this website I signed up to receive their daily email, which is basically a tip of the day. One tip of the day that I want to talk about (the purpose of this particular blog) is how husbands (or men) should let their wives (or women) know that they captivate them. While I may not always be the best at verbalizing these things, and I may not always be the best at showing these things - I am pretty confident that I can write these things. So Amy, here you go (sorry that I don't tell you and/or show you all of these things regularly (I am who I am), but I feel them and I mean them!), here is the blog post that you wanted - dedicated to you!

Amy, you are captivating to me because you are beautiful; I thought this when I first saw you in our introductory elementary education class (I knew there was a reason I became a teacher), and I think this more than ever today while you are pregnant with our child. You are captivating to me because you are the nicest person that I know; you are nice to everyone, even when you don't want to be. You are captivating to me because you like to relax and have a good time. You are captivating to me because you have a passion for chlidren; you have a meaningful job and you work very hard at being successful at your job. You are captivating to me because you have inherited SOME (not yet enough ; -)) of my passion for sports. You are captivating to me because you do not try to limit my passion towards sports. You are captivating to me due to the excitement you have towards our unborn son. You are captivating to me because even though you are excited about Ryne being born, you still want to go to as many Iowa football games this year as possible (small things like this mean a lot to a foolish guy like me). You are captivating to me because you are fashionable and always dress nice, even though I tease you about never wearing enough Hawkeye, Cubs, Bears, etc. tee-shirts. You are captivating to me because you are such a good cook - and you cook with a lot of cheese and make things spicy, the two things I like most in my foods. You are captivating to me because I know that you love me. Amy, you are captivating to me. Thanks!

E is for Emotion

I don’t know how many of you, if any of you, ever had to create acrostic poems, the type of poem where a word is written vertically and then each letter represents a different word, during your schooling, but I frequently remember having to do them. Usually the word that was written vertically was my name, either Eric or Ewald. And usually each letter was supposed to be a word that you felt described yourself. I’m guessing that all of you that read this blog know me, some on a deeper level than others, but one word that I never selected for the E was emotional.

Chances are if you know who I am, emotional wouldn’t be a word that comes to your mind to describe me. I wouldn’t use it to describe myself. Very seldom, do I exhibit a lot of emotion externally. However, there are exceptions to the norm. As a senior in high school, while playing a football game that would decide the District Championship, in the fourth quarter of a game against our biggest rival, with only a touchdown lead for my team, I showed emotion. I fell on a fumble that in the backfield that a friend of mine had caused while rushing the passer. I was so excited and happy that without regards for the rules (because I fell on the fumble, I was down), I got up and did a celebratory sprint into the end zone! Remembering back to that moment…it felt like someone else was inside my body controlling those actions; not something that people would imagine to see out of me (on a side note, that was probably one of the five greatest single moments of my life. The others being (in chronological order): witnessing, live, Drew Tate to Warren Holloway’s touchdown that won the Capital One Bowl for the Iowa Hawkeyes over the LSU Tigers, my whole wedding weekend, Amy telling me that she was pregnant, finding out that our unborn child is a boy!).

However, I frequently have tears trickling down my cheek during movies; I can watch Remember the Titans, Rocky IV, or Rudy a million times and cry every time. It is good to cry. I can cry on command when I start to think, or see, or hear certain things. In Jimmy V’s famous ESPY speech, he said that there were three things that people should do on a daily basis. He said that you should think, you should laugh, and you should cry everyday. I try to do all of those things everyday; I think that it is good advice.

I cry. I show emotion. I feel. I’ve always told my teams that I coach, “Don’t ever get too high when things are going good and don’t ever get too low when things are bad,” (I’ve also heard Kirk Ferentz preach this same concept) and I try to live that. However, I must admit, when we were having the ultrasound done to determine our baby’s sex, it was a good thing that the room was dark. I had tears of joy rolling down my cheek after hearing the technician tell us it was a boy! I am extremely excited about the birth of our son, I just don’t wear my emotions on my sleeves…for better or worse.

I’ve never been an emotional person, and I’ve never aspired to become one. Traditionally, emotional men have never been well received by society. That is starting to change. I recently read a book that talked of how this generation of young boys is, for the first time on a wide scale, being raised by fathers that are openly showing emotion towards their sons. I realize the importance of this, and I realize that I will have to actively work toward this. However, I fear nothing because when there is something that I have to work towards, I always work until I’ve accomplished it!

The Decision

I left the powder at home.





Man, this whole pregnancy experience, looking forward to it.





This process has been everything I've thought and more.





I have enjoyed it. And I want to thank my wife. And our doctors, also.





It's been an unbelievable experience, a real humbling experience to be even to be in this position...





No one knows our decision right now.





I think we decided this morning. I mean, we decided this morning. It went day to day. We'd wake up one morning, it's this name. We'd wake up another morning, it's that name. And it's a process that we felt was the best opportunity for us and our son.





No. We don't have any doubts at all.





In this fall, this is very tough, in this fall we're going to name our son...Ryne Bailey Ewald





That was supposed to be a parody of the Lebron James "Decision" that ESPN aired this past July. Lebron James was criticized a great deal for how he handled his decision, and therefore it has been mocked at great lengths. If you are interested in seeing Lebron's decision, I'm sure that you can find it on YouTube. So I realize that not many of you probably realized where I was going with this, but I really enjoyed it and thought that it was clever.





Seriously though, Bailey is a great middle name! It is my middle name, and it is my mother's maiden name. James was a front runner for Ryne's middle name until July. I really liked the name James, and so did Amy. James is my mother's father's name (whom I unfortunately was never able to meet). James is my brother's middle name. James is Lebron's last name. Lebron, before he made a fool of himself with his "Decision," was my current, favorite basketball player. If Lebron had taken his "basketball talents" to the Chicago Bulls, I would have pushed EXTREMELY HARD for our son to be named Ryne James Ewald. However, that didn't happen.





We are happy to announce, on this blog, that our son will be named Ryne Bailey Ewald.

Hope Springs Eternal

I like reading and writing of many different genres. Poetry is the exception. I don't like to read it, and I don't like to write it. I don't even like to teach it to my sixth grade students because I don't usually understand it very well. However, there are some poems that I do like. One line of poetry that I particularly like is Alexander Pope's, "Hope springs eternal." It is a pretty simple line that I interpret to mean that hope lasts forever in the spring. In the spring things are being reborn, there is a fresh start, and optimism is in the air. I take great liking to the line, especially as a Cubs fan; the season has yet to start, the team has yet to lose a game, and there is the hope and the optimism that this could be the year (although it never is) that they win the World Series.



But what about fall?



I love fall far more than spring. I love fall far more than any other season. It is a brand NEW school year with a FRESH start. Students going back to school are able to resume their friendships with their classmates that they may not have seen over the summer. Football is beginning! Playing football or watching football is and has always been (remembering back to kindergarten) at the very top of my list of favorite things to do. The weather is no longer blistering hot, but usually cool enough to be comfortable in jeans and a sweatshirt and sleep with the windows open. I could never live anywhere that did not experience the changing of seasons. I love fall.

High school football has started, college football starts in one week, and the NFL starts in two weeks!

Did I mention that this fall is going to be significant more so than most falls. And no, I don't mean that it is more significant than normal because the Iowa Hawkeyes are supposed to contend for the Big Ten Championship and possibly even the National Championship (although that is pretty significant!). This fall is significant because Amy and I are welcoming our first child into the world. Our first son is coming into the world. Ryne is coming into the world. And he is coming into the world during the fall (not to mention a fall when the Iowa Hawkeyes could be experiencing unprecedented success! Wouldn't that be great, Ryne born during a year that Iowa won a championship!). That has to be a pretty good sign of things to come!

The End of Summer as We KNEW It...

When I got my undergraduate degree a professor told my graduating class that the number one reason that teachers got into education was: June, July, and August. Fact. I have completed four years of teaching sixth grade at a school that could be classified as challenging. Every year, by May, I am ready for summer. I am ready to relax, rest, and recharge myself as a teacher. This is a much needed break. Most people talk about how easy teachers have it come the summer months. However, no other profession deals with such defiant and irrational people (adolescents) on a full-time basis. That being said, I love my job. And I love my summers.

Did you read my profile? I LOVE to travel. Over the past four summers, I have had the luxury to go to such places as St. Petersburg, Florida, Chicago (MANY times), San Francisco, Jamaica, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Austin and San Antonio, Texas, and Louisville, Kentucky. I have gone to approximately 20 Major League Baseball games in six different stadiums. I have had enough time to follow baseball so closely that it has become my second favorite sport (it however, has zero chance of ever passing football as my favorite). I have become a runner. I have been given enough time to pursue and receive my master's degree. I have had enough time to move residencies. I have had enough time to enjoy every minute leading up to my wedding, and not had to worry about missing work at the same time. I am very lucky.

For the past four summers Amy and I have had an agreement regarding our summer vacations. I pick where we go one year, and she picks where we go the next. If you know us, you know that our ideas of a vacation vary greatly. One of us likes to go somewhere and relax; the other one of us likes to go somewhere and do as many things as we can possibly do while we are there. Amy's choice is the first, my choice is the second. I picked to go to Texas; Amy picked our honeymoon destination of Jamaica. I picked to go to San Francisco; Amy picked Florida. Where will we go next summer? It is my turn to pick, and I have several places in mind. However, we are about to be thrown a curve ball. As much as I like to plan-out my days, weeks, months, and years that may no longer be possible.

I hope that we are still able to take our vacations - the two of us, but we will see. That being said, I look forward to my upcoming summers. I look forward to teaching Ryne how to swim. I look forward to being able to be home with Ryne throughout the day. I look forward to taking family vacations (all three of us). I look forward to teaching Ryne to play catch. I look forward to, possibly, coaching Ryne through tee-ball and little league. I look forward to taking Ryne to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes basketball players play in the Prime Time League. I look forward to taking Ryne to the Chicago Bears training camp to get autographs. I look forward to taking Ryne to the Iowa Hawkeyes football family day. I look forward to taking Ryne to Wrigley Field (and wearing our matching jerseys!). I look forward to all of these things, as well as the other things I am unable to predict.

Summer will still be something to look forward to at the end of the school year.

An Introduction

There are several questions that I think need answered before I begin blogging.



Question one, why am I blogging?
Well, for starters, it is because, my wife, Amy, and I are expecting our first child, a son - Ryne, this fall so...Well, I thought that blogging would be an easy and fast way for people to follow the growth of our son from afar. I could upload photos to Facebook, but with this blog I can add narrative and video! I can think of several grandparents who will love that, probably a couple of aunts and uncles, and maybe even a couple of friends. Secondly, I love writing; little known fact that I've kept a journal of some form off and on since high school. And finally, I love being up-to-date with technology. Blogs are very common in the culture of the United States today so why shouldn't I have one? Eventually, I might (hopefully) expand the scope of my blog, but for now I will just use it as a method to communicate what my family is doing.



Question two, why is my blog titled Second to None?
Recently, while in Chicago with my brother, Kyle, I told him the title of my blog and he immediately thought it was an arrogant title on my part. It's not what you think...Growing up I had two favorite baseball players: Bo Jackson and Ryne Sandberg. The Cubs were and are my favorite baseball team, and that is where Sandberg played. (This is how Ryne Ewald got his name; Amy and I had a deal. If our child was a girl, she got naming rights and I got veto power. If our child was a boy, I got naming rights and she got veto power. I won! She chose Ryne instead of Adrian (Clayborn) and Nile (Kinnick).) I resume, in the early/mid nineties Sandberg wrote an autobiography. For some reason I thought that his autobiography was titled Second to None. I really thought that that would make a great title for my blog; I would be incorporating Sandberg with his autobiography title and my son who will be second to none. I Googled the book title to make sure that it was correct...I was wrong, his book was titled Second to Home (Sandberg was a second baseman). Regardless, I liked the title Second to None much better so that is how it was decided (it has nothing to do with me, Kyle!).