Welcome back. Still 2020. Can’t fix that.
My Facebook account has been logged into for approximately four consecutive days from various locations that includes Chicago, Florida and other places I’ve never heard of. Oddly enough, I have not been to these locations in the last four days. Seems as though I am under attack by persons or computers that hack such things.
Apparently, they were dying to get a hold of pictures of my “friends'” Thanksgiving meals and various humble brags and such. Thankfully, the “I’m thankful” posts are not as prolific this year but hopefully they got their fair share of those. Honestly, I highly recommend hacking me in January. The online, confessional-like resolutions are my favorite social media posts. They should then hack me again in March to catch the outcome of those resolutions; it’s must-have information.
Foley demands that I have this column written, despite the fact I should be celebrating Cyber Monday. He’s a slave driver, but I gotta make some bank to keep up with my wife’s pandemic credit card abuse, so here I am. Don’t expect much, I’m simply punching The Landmark time clock.
I don’t jump on many overhyped feel good moments, but I was fairly impressed with developments at Faurot Field on Saturday. Sarah Fuller became the first female to play in an NCAA Power 5 football game. COVID opened up a need for a kicker and Vanderbilt reached out to the soccer team and Fuller signed up and she played in the game against Mizzou, kicking off once. A pooch kick that was fairly well executed.
The cameras were on her and her parents most of the day as Mizzou was putting a 40 spot on the downtrodden team and you could see she and her parents were nervous. Mizzou did a great job of recognizing her appearance and the historical significance during the game and the socially distanced crowd was equally respectful of the milestone.
It was a little inspiring, in a year that has lacked similar experiences.
With all that being said, let’s be honest that this was almost wholly symbolic. I have a daughter and I never once entertained a dream for her to play Division I football in the SEC. If that is a goal you are establishing with your daughter, you might reconsider. My established goal for my daughter for most of her life was to clean her room once or twice a quarter.
The “pooch” kick that the young lady executed could have been executed by 70% of the players already on that team and anyone thinking that this is a door opening for females to play big time college football is simply ignoring the facts of life; literally. It is also notable that despite the coach’s willingness to play a female in the game, he was fired two days later for seven years of bad football.
Celebrate the symbolism, but acknowledge the reality is a staple of goals and aspirations in my sphere of influence.
(Guy Speckman can be reached at gspeckman@me.com or pooch kicking in front of The Landmark office)