Football – Rosalinda R Morgan

I received an email from someone asking for donation regarding the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC on Monday, May 27, 2019 of which he will be the Marshal. My husband being a WWII veteran I sent in a donation in his honor and also because of who sent me the email which brings me to this topic of mistaken identity.

The person soliciting the donation is no other than Lou Holtz, the Notre Dame coach. Since I have never been a football fan, I didn’t know who Lou Holtz was years ago until my husband told me a story when he came home after my son’s soccer game when my son was in grade school.

One of the kids watching the game called his father and said, “Look Dad, there is Lou Holtz.”

Matthew Morgan

A lot of people have mistaken my husband with Lou Holtz. I have no idea how tall Lou Holtz is but my husband is 6’ tall and blond. He used to be reddish blond. I see Lou Holtz is also blond.

When we moved to Charleston, we were at the Charleston Market downtown having a quick snack and people stopped and asked if he was Lou Holtz. He denied it but people did not believe him.

The first time we went to dinner at Hyman Restaurant downtown, we saw a picture of Lou Holtz on the wall. I noticed people stared at my husband and then looked at the wall.

Then when my stepdaughter and her husband together with my three granddaughters came one summer, we took them to Hyman. Lou Holtz’s picture was one of the pictures posted along the stairway. They seated us on a table near the stairway. On the table was carved “Lou Holtz sat here.” I didn’t know if it was intentional or a coincidence that we were seated at that table.

Another time, we were waiting in line outside for a table and the waitress asked for our name and our guests having known the story said, “Holtz like in Lou Holtz.” When they called Lou Holtz, we were taken to the bar and there was a picture of Lou Holtz at one corner of the bar. Customers at the bar looked at my husband and then at the wall and asked if he was Lou Holtz and he said no. They didn’t believe him. When our bill came at the end of our dinner, our guests picked up the tab so the restaurant did not know if he was Lou Holtz or not.

The last time we were at Hyman with my son and his girlfriend, the same thing happened. It was hilarious to the point of totally out of control. It was the worst in my opinion. Two people addressed him as Lou Holtz and asked for my husband’s autograph. They even asked to have their pictures taken with him. It did not make sense to me because Lou Holtz was supposed to broadcast a game the same day in another city. He could not possibly be in Charleston at the same time. People were not thinking.

A waiter must have tipped the owner of the restaurant because he came over to our table and thanked my husband profusely for coming and bringing some friends. I think he really believed he was Lou Holtz. I could not wait to get out of the restaurant. My son paid the bill so it was still a mystery to the restaurant if he was really Lou Holtz. My son’s girlfriend suggested my husband should study Lou Holtz’s biography so he could answer questions intelligently to make it look real. I said, “No!”.

I don’t think I’ll ever set foot at Hyman Restaurant again. At least not with my husband. Of course, with his health condition right now, he can’t go anywhere so that solves that problem.

Will the real Lou Holtz please stand up?

Lou Holtz Matt at Alex's wedding

I’m sure I’m on the minority but football and I do not seem to go together even if my kids were very involved in sport when they were growing up. All kinds of sport. They started with soccer, then went on to baseball. After the little league, my youngest son, Alex, played football and my eldest son, Matt, went for soccer again. My husband coached my son’s soccer game and they were always the winning team.

I watched my youngest son played football but I never really understood the game. I usually sat with the other mothers on the bleacher and we did not really pay much attention on what was going on the field.

My kids went to parochial school from kindergarten thru high school and when they went to high school, we got a new pastor and he discontinued football. Alex started playing lacrosse. Matt went into ice hockey. In college, Alex continued with lacrosse. As a matter of fact, he started lacrosse in his school. Matt went to England to college and I did not think he went into any sport there except raising his elbow at the pub. Funny! I know. American Express said so every time I got the monthly statements.

Before we had kids, my husband took me to a football game. I was miserable. It was so cold sitting up there. The only thing I enjoyed was the half time. My husband swore he would never take me to a football game again. He never did. I was very happy about that decision. He then took me to a hockey game and I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I became a hockey fan. It was fast and exciting. I found football too slow and confusing with all the breaks. They were both contact sports but hockey has continuous action. Football stops, the clock stops. They go back. I just don’t get it. No matter how my husband and my kids explained the game. I never got it.

When I became a real estate agent, I had a phone call from a guy looking to rent. He was on the entertainment field, he said. His name is Ted Cottrell. We made an appointment to see some houses. I went home and told my family at dinner I had an appointment to show some houses to this guy and I made all kinds of analysis to show him that buying a home is better then renting. When Alex heard my client’s name, he flipped out.

“Do you know who Ted Cottrell is?”

“No. Who is he? Am I supposed to know him?”

“Mom, you are so dumb. He is the defense coach of the NY Jets.”

Shocking, I did not even get excited.

Alex’s best friend is a fan of the NY Jets. He got on the phone and called his friend.

“Guess what? Mom is taking Ted Cottrell to show some houses.”

“Are you kidding me?” his friend said.

“No, she has an appointment with him tomorrow. Mom let him signed some papers. She has his autograph.”

His friend could not believe it. But I was not excited at all. Remember, I know nothing about football. Ted I’m sure knew that I did not know football either because I had no reaction when he told me who he was.

He came to the office the next day and I took him out. Ted was a big man. I had a small car. Pushing the passenger seat all the way back, he still was squeezed in my car. His knees were touching the dashboard. The next time, I took him out, he asked if he could use his car. So I went with him and his wife in his big SUV and sat in the back. They were extremely nice couple.

Every so often, I made a few remarks about a team. My kids were shocked that I knew something about sport. They made fun of me and I didn’t care.

Yesterday afternoon, after I got home from a rose society meeting, my son asked me if I would be watching the Puppy Bowl since he knew I won’t be watching the Super Bowl.

“What the heck is a Puppy Bowl?”

puppy-bowl-touchdown-620 — Touchdown! And there’s no end to end-zone antics in “Puppy Bowl.” – Animal Planet

I’ve never heard about it and it is their 14^th year. He turned on the TV downstairs for me ten minutes before the starting time so I could watch the entire game.

Guess what? It’s the best football game I’ve watched. The announcer was so serious doing a play by play narration. The players were so adorable. The game was fabulous. It was so hilarious, I could not stop laughing every time they scored.

In my opinion, it was much better than the Super Bowl or any football game for that matter. I had a great time.