SteelerDirtFreak :: 21st Century Missional Redneck Geek   A reformational renaissance redneck who likes football, dirt car racing, and photography tries to figure out what it means to follow after the path of Jesus in this post-Christian world we find ourselves in.

Getting ready to leave in just a little while to head over to Youngstown, Ohio to see the opening round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship (formerly Division I-AA). Youngstown State University Penguins are hosting the Dukes from James Madison University.

My buddy Wade is going with me (well actually I’m going with him, since he’s driving) and I think I forgot to tell him that I’m going to be cheering for JMU. See, my brother went to JMU, and while he was there, I went to almost all of their football games and am still a fan of their program. I figure I’ll wait til we are already inside the stadium to let him know about that little fact…

Should be a fairly good game. YSU is one of the top rushing teams in 1-AA, while JMU is the top rushing defense. Both teams are 9-2 and champs of their conference. Youngstown State, Gateway Football Conference champion, is seeded No. 4 in the 16-team field. James Madison, the Atlantic 10 Conference champion, is unseeded.

This will be the first live football game I’ve been to in a couple of years. Looking forward to it…

UPDATE:
I guess I forgot to update this as to how the game turned out. YSU won the game, scoring twice in the 4th quarter to overcome a 31-20 deficit, and take the victory 35-31. While I would have liked to have seen JMU win, it was an exciting game, we had an excellent view, the winning TD was scored directly in front of us, and there is nothing quite like the emotion, spirit, and passion of college football. It was an excellent night of football with a good friend.