Bloomington

November 13, 2021

Going to chronicle my IU Dads’ Weekend here in short updates.

FRIDAY, Nov 12 — It’s a pristine Midwestern day in this gem of a college town, with Fall colors peaking. I arrived at Noon, made contact with freshman son John (who’s in class until 1:20) and high-tailed it here, to the massive club chairs in the Biddle IMU Hotel lobby, to check email and kill time.

Should be a great weekend. In 40 minutes I’ll be reconnecting at lunch with several friends from Back In The Day. Tonight John and I will see the basketball Hoosiers take on a scrappy Northern Illinois squad at Assembly Hall.

The city itself has never looked better. Situated in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, Bloomington stands apart as a Big Ten college town. The town of 85,000 is easily walkable and the IU campus is unmatched in beauty. With Indy a stone’s throw to the north, the town is compass-center to Chicago, Nashville, Louisville, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, each a short drive away.

10:50 p.m. Dedicated 50 years ago, Assembly Hall is an electric venue. It is like nowhere else on the planet. The reason is acoustics — and the sheer verticality of its design ensures the fans are vocal and on top of the action.

I can only imagine what it must have felt like tonight to be a player on the visiting NILL squad.

The Huskies, coming off a huge opening-night upset of Washington in Seattle, went down hard, 85-49. And it was Indiana’s effort on defense, combined with the jolt of the sound of 17,000 Indiana fans, that did them in. They never had a chance.

For 30 minutes, NIU couldn’t break the 25-point mark. IU was focused, in position and it took away options, it blocked shots and it simply out-hustled the Dekalb five. Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 19 and blocked seven shots and Race Thompson finished with a double-double.

This was an impressive team-defense win that I was happy to see in person with John.

It’s now 2 a.m. and I’m beat after a great night with 32 terrific college freshmen and their fathers. I spent quality time with my kid and his brothers. And I reunited with five guys from my pledge year who have current ties to the undergraduate group.

We’ll meet for breakfast, and head over to Memorial Stadium to see a hotly anticipated tilt between 4-5 Rutgers and your 2-7 Indiana Hoosiers. The forecast calls for north winds and sunshine, high of 40. Good night!

SATURDAY, Nov 13 — 8:40 a.m. Happy birthday to my amazing wife, Christi! She’s hanging out tonight in Austin with three lifelong buddies. They’re hitting a favorite restaurant late in the afternoon, and then the plan is for the group to return to our house. I will miss the fun, but it’s in service to the big Dad’s festivities here.

Rob’s UT-Dallas hoops squad will have its home opener today at 2 Central. The Comets (1-0) will take on the 3-point specialists from Belhaven U (0-1) in Jackson MS.

Following football, Rob’s twin brother John and I will be streaming the American Southwest Conference action from the Indiana Fiji house.

2:48 pm – Back at the room and prepping to view Rob’s home opener with UT-Dallas. IU was abysmal today, played the worst half of football I have ever seen. But THIS was a highlight.

4:00 pm – UT-Dallas 68, Belhaven 61. It wasn’t always pretty but the Comets move to 2-0.

9:56 p.m. – Back at the hotel prepping to view Texas at Gonzaga with John. It’s been a terrific visit culminating in a group dinner this evening. Bloomington (and the Indiana campus) is special.