More Reality Show Than Disney Movie

 

A family is not all rainbows and unicorns. It's sitting up with a sick child. It's fighting with your sister. It's rallying around a loved one when the diagnosis isn't the one you wanted to hear. 

A family sticks together when life is more "reality show" than "Disney movie."

One of my Dad's nonnegotiable edicts was sticking up for family. At home, you might be mad at a younger sister for slipping off to the bathroom while you washed dishes after dinner. But, if someone outside the family was criticizing your brother or your sister or your parents, it was your job - no, your duty - to rally to their defense.

The inaugural game of the 2013 K-State football season didn't turn out as scripted.

K-State dedicated the new West Stadium on Friday morning. Through our binoculars during pregame festivities, I looked for my parents in their new purple seats there. Next time, I'll look for the brick our family placed in the West Stadium that says:

Bob & Janis Moore Family: 4 generations of Wildcats and counting

Photo taken Thursday, August 29, 2013, by Darci Moore.

Some 50,000-strong filled the stands Friday night, cheering on their 'Cats, despite the suffocating heat. They hung the Big 12 Championship flag, though not even the thundering yells and furiously clapping hands could summon up enough breeze to make it blow.

 

And then our team lost. It almost felt like the fireworks show at the end of the game was more "firing squad" than "family celebration."

There were the inevitable snide remarks from my friends who don't bleed purple, but, to be fair, fewer than I expected. And there were some K-State "fans" who were less than complimentary about coaches, players and life in general.

It always bugs me when people wearing purple incessantly complain about the quarterback or the coach during a game. My Dad's edict rumbles through my brain: Aren't we the ones who are supposed to be sticking up for "family?" Sometimes, I have to force myself not to educate the misguided "fans" about the true meaning of family commitment.

Maybe I have a different perspective. I sat through many a football game as a student at K-State in the late 1970s. We rarely won. But we were there, week after week, hoping that this was the day it would happen.

We did get a win on Friday. It wasn't a win on the scoreboard. But it was a win for K-State. We have a beautiful new facility that's being called a new cornerstone to campus. One loss doesn't change that.

This morning, as I checked Facebook, I saw that my friends, Becky & Tim Miller, are part of the extended family which will be honored as the K-State Family of the Year 2013. (Our family received that honor in 2009.)

I have pictures of our little girl and their little girl at a long ago Cotton Bowl. Here's what Becky wrote: 

Like most K-State families, you find yourself reflecting about how awesome your family is, then at other times agreeing with the in-law or teenage family member who is rolling their eyes or shaking their heads about a family trait. Nobody pretends to be perfect but we are K-State proud. 

Becky Miller, one member of the 2013 K-State Family of the Year

Yep .. what my K-State "sister" said.

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On Friday, K-State released a video about sports in the 1930s. I was thrilled when I saw my Grandpa Neelly in the photo on Facebook. (He's the second from the right on the front row.) Click here for the video. And click here for a previous blog post about his time on the K-State football team.