Nothing But Iron: Marsh Mellowed by Steven R. Lagman, M.D., C.A.S.W. September 13, 2008 I was busy managing teenagers, so I didn’t get to the UW-Marshall game until late in the first quarter. By the time I arrived Camp Randall was in disarray. Marshall had taken control of the game, the Badgers looked bewildered, the ground was littered with popcorn and candy wrappers and fans around me had all but given up on the season. "That’s just terrible. Terrible!" said one man, sharing his utter disgust after the T-Herd went up by two touchdowns. I attribute my calm demeanor, verifiable by brother-in-law Kerry O’Neill sitting next to me, not to apathy, but to a syndrome called UMOMA or Unexpected Maturity of Middle Age. Not ten (O.K. five) years earlier I would have been (O.K., was) a blubbering lunatic, devoid of restraint and perspective, wearing despair on my forehead, heart rate and blood pressure plotting to explode arteries in my brain, failing miserably to appreciate the possibility that sooner or later everything might be O.K., like that time we won the Rose Bowl even though we got beat 108-102 (something like that) by Minnesota earlier that same year. At 47, I feel like I am starting to grasp the obvious: these are football games. Down 14-0 I had these thoughts: 1)Wisconsin might not be very good. 2) Marshall might be pretty good. 3) Wisconsin might be very good and just forgot. I wondered how exciting it was to be one of the 50 or so Thundering Herders in the obstructed-view seats across from us. Suddenly, I found out. This left-handed guy named Allen Evridge, who played at Kansas State in his youth, started throwing and throwing and a bunch of other guys started catching and catching, and backs started running and running and defenders started defending. A couple hours later 14-0 was 14-Oh! The sun shined, the students waved–fast and slow and in reverse–and chanted bad words and jumped around and everything, as it is sometimes, was OK. The come-back-and-then-some performance spared you from a number of clever would-be NBI titles that began to coalesce after the first Herd TD: 1) Thundering Hurt 2) Thundering Heard 3) Plundering Hurd 4) Marshall Flaw 5) Thundering Turd. I bet you could guess which one I would have used. So, what do I now think, having actually seen the Badgers play? I think that every successful Badgers team has had the ability to come from behind. Come-from-behind is a kind of strength not possessed by all teams, like those which lose a lot because they can’t catch up if they get behind. I think that beating Marshall by 37 points does not yet mean the Badgers are a great team, but beating Marshall by less than this margin, would practically rule out greatness. Said more simply, great football teams should beat Marshall by a lot, especially at home. I think we have a quarterback. The fortunes of an entire season cannot be read from one performance, but I liked Alan Evridge’s contribution very much. I think it a good sign that our receiving corps was productive with our best receiver on the side lines. Rumor has it that Travis Beckum will play tonight. A Fresno State fan, weighing in on a UW blog said that the Badgers will win because his team will be unable to stop the run. That would work for me, but I wonder if it could possibly be that simple. I am glad the Badgers are playing at Fresno State, which as much a Marshall as James Blake is a Steve Lagman. The away game means I won’t spend this rainy afternoon sopping up water from the bleachers with my pants and underwear, but that is a secondary gain. I am glad because Fresno is a tough opponent. It is tough by virtue of Pat Hill, a determined coach who has built a well-respected and sometimes-feared (especially when major programs set their schedules) program off of the sacrifices of playing road games against good teams. Hill is everything that most of college football is not. His reward is Fresno State’s distinction as the premier BCS casualty of the decade. I applaud Bret Bielema for agreeing to play at Fresno. Risky? It would seem so. But win or lose, the experience will pay off. In other words, challenge breeds success. You may not get that, but I bet Hill does. Besides, the Bulldogs deserve this home game. I lugged my camera and a 300mm (read: big, really big) lens to the game, and I was glad I did it. Show me a photographer who says size doesn’t matter, and I’ll show you a blurry picture on a cheap camera cell phone. I was able to hang out on the lower walkway near the end zone during two Wisconsin touchdowns. I blew a couple shots because I choked on settings–hey, there are lots of buttons on my camera–but I got a lot of pictures that made me happy, and I will share a few will you.  (Click here to be shared with .) Diversion: If I worked for CNN, I would probably take myself seriously as I straddled earthquake faults, dodged mortars and reported the weather with hurricane’s storm surge boiling behind me. I would have no idea that sometimes, an effort to create news, I was little more than a cartoon–Elmer Fudd with a microphone. Yesterday I watched a report about Texas residents reluctant to flee oncoming Ike. A warning was issued: "You could face certain death." CNN reported this so-called development with melodramatic flare that I found to be LOL amusing. Could face certain death. Translation: If there is a hurricane and you don’t leave, you could die. If you die, you would certainly be dead. News Flash: That is NOT . . . news . . . even in big letters. But it is pretty good comedy. This just in: Wiley Coyote buys dynamite and bird seed. Roadrunner could face Certain Death. Me meep. Monday was an evening of uncommon celebration, not for the defeat of the Vikings, but for the 18th birthday of my oldest son. I am astounded at how quickly we have produced a full-grown man. It takes my words away. Because we were out to dinner I missed most of the Packers-Vikings game, and it took me two days to watch the replay. Having heard some post-game analysis, I figured we had merely dodged a bullet; Green Bay had a dozens of penalties but got lucky on a punt return and a long run by Ryan Grant. Was I wrong. I learned that Aaron Rogers is ready. It looked like he studied hard under Brett Favre’s tutelage. I was surprised by his poise, his decision making and his mobility, to the point that I look forward to watching him again soon. Did Rogers look like Favre? I don’t really care. The new guy was effective. As was the Green Bay defense against Adrian Peterson. No doubt AP is destined for greatness and the Packers contained him. I particularly like the play of the linebackers. They didn’t shut him down, but they prevented him from being the threat he will be on many weekends this season. In short, I saw one good team beat another good team. That’s encouraging because I think, unlike last year, there may more good teams in the NFC North. My first season trip to Lambeau will be September 21 for the game against Dallas, otherwise known as a scheduling atrocity by the NFL. Finally Dallas must come to Lambeau and it happens in September? That lacks creativity and originality, not to mention frost bite potential. The extended forecast calls for wind chills to reach 65 by kickoff. Ooooo. The Sweat Bowl. I’ll tell my grandchildren I was there. On the other hand warmer, it seems the days of frozen tundral supremacy may behind us, so maybe we should take home field advantage–hot or cold–and run with it. Or pass. My brother sent me the photo of a church sign that said, "God won’t leave you for the Jets." My reply to him was, "of course not, but I bet he’ll sign with the Patriots if Brady ever retires." I had no way to appreciate the foreshadowing of that one. As much as I don’t cheer the success of the Patriots organization, I find it sad to see an accomplished player like Tom Brady suffer an injury that may be career ending. At least he has his won his rings and made his fortune. I do predict that Bill Belichick has a back up plan and it is probably a good one. I respect that. I don’t want to spend too much time talking about Favre, because he plays out East, but I must comment on an article by Allen Barra that appeared in the Wall Street Journal, which I read daily because I am quite sophisticated, especially when someone leaves a coffee-stained copy sitting around for me to borrow. Mr. Barra posed this question: "Is Brett a Bad Bet for the Jets?" His answer, paraphrased, was yes. Mr. Barra cited numerous facts, including Mr. Favre’s interception record, key playoff losses, and a low yards-per-attempt relative to Hall of Fame peers. Mr. Barra’s ignorance is excusable. He knows Favre as most non-Packers fans know him: careless unshaven gunslinger who, on any given day, can hurt his team as deeply as he might help it. But numbers fail to tell the whole story. There is no statistic for heart. None for pain. None for never criticizing a teammate. None for a respect and love of the game that sometimes brought him to tears. There are no records for wow! None for can you believe that?!! The numbers ignore the countless thrills we felt watching him play. It is true that Favre won’t be Favre forever. At 38 years and 253 games old, it is possible that attrition and debility will have made Favre a bad bet for the Jets, but I’ll tell you, Mr. Barra, I would not bet on it. _____________ Nothing But Iron is an amateur sports column. The author, who could have faced certain spousal scorn and ridicule, thanks his wife for sticking by, or at least tolerating him during the pre-UMOMA years (1988-circa 2003). This issue is dedicated to 18-year-old man-son Patrick. Wow. Can you believe that? ©2008 DrTM Enterprises. All rights reserved.