Moonie

A collection of my favorite lines from ijmm. As a 1) generational chi bears fan 2) marching band drum major 3) theatre technician who often leaves the room last 4) uga football next of kin, this chapter made me understand a side of my family I’ve never really connected with.

I saw a city I’ve never been to, but have heard too many stories of, light up from a win that I finally got from this last season.

I never really understood how sports made people feel until this year. I remember my dad crying in our basement when the cubbies won the 2016 World Series. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now. I understand it in the way that DJ Moore caught that pass in OT in the Wild Card Round. I understand in second-string Jahdae Walker pulling out the touchdown giving us a chance to take Green Bay Down. I understand in Colston Loveland “looking back three too many times” during his first career touchdown(according to my mom).

I’ve never felt as seen as I did when I read this chapter. I’ve never cried at a fic before, but something about this spoke to me in volumes that I’ve only heard from my dad when Ben Johnson goes for the fourth down.

As a kid, and even now, I didn’t know much about my dad’s side of the family. I knew he moved around a lot, and that he likes to lie and say he grew up on a farm. I think people like to make things up about their family to try and feel more connected. I may be exaggerating my UGA credentials, but what I do know is this. When I talk about Georgia bulldogs, I think about my dad. I think about his dad. I think about the trips they would come back from with a stuffed bulldog in a red sweater. I think about the cement bulldog doorstops sitting in my living room. I think about the ugly, worn-out UGA decal that sits lost in a collage of brewery stickers and beer labels on my fridge.

No, I was never really a Georgia fan. I can’t argue that I’ve kept up with every season since I knew how to spell Georgia. I can’t argue that I was there on New Year’s Day, 2023. I can’t even argue that I know the current QB’s name. But what I can say, without a doubt, is that football means something to me. It means something to my family. It speaks volumes to who I am, and who I came from. I’m a loyal Chicago sports fan, and that will never change. But a small section of my heart will always beat for Georgia football. Because it gave me my family.