Posters announcing the Bass Bowl were posted everywhere in Lakeport. I had no idea what it was until my editor, Ariel Carmona, and I were shooting the breeze, trying to talk about anything but work. Did we succeed? Nope!
He talked about a football game, the Bass Bowl, that he was going to cover and I said, “I’ll go with you!”
That’s all it took. That and a lot of logistical planning; who would drive, what I’d need to bring and a gazillion other details on my part. I only had a few minutes to get ready to go.
First off, I looked at the weather and found that it was going down to 45F. Sitting outside for three hours in that temperature would freeze me so I began dressing — tights my friend Rose sent me to go under a pair of jeans. My Ugg’s. Two shirts and a poofy vest, an igloo like poncho and a throw that my daughter had given me and a pair of garden gloves (couldn’t find my knit gloves), a pink headband (that I bought to support a women’s cause) and several hand warmers.
Would that be enough?
Finding a parking spot at Kelseyville High School wasn’t too difficult as long as I was willing to walk.
Knowing that I’d pay for it the next day, I bravely said, “No biggie, no pain, no gain.”
The air was crisp. The moon seemed as bright as the football field lights. It had been almost 60 years since I had been to a high school football game but the hum of the crowd instantly brought me back to my school days. The last time I went to an October game was with Dave Cook, a tall good looking boy who was so shy we barely said three sentences the whole game. No such shyness on my part these 60 odd years later.
With my folding chair and blanket, I settled at the end zone on the Kelseyville side far enough away from the bleachers full of cheering Knights fans.
The visiting Clear Lake side was much smaller but still packed with Cardinal fans.
The Knights uniforms were orange and black just like the colors of my high school. Was I back in Michigan? Cheering on my home team?
I was reminded of the season tickets that Husband No. 2 had for the San Francisco 49ers. The seats were on the 50 yard line, which was in the sun on a good day. Having had a beer at the tailgate party, combined with the warmth of the sun, I snoozed out for most of the first half. No confusing me with a sports fan.
No snoozing for the Kelseyville vs Clear Lake game though – it was too damn cold!
Most of the action happened at the other end of the field during the second half (yes, the Knights were up two touchdowns). When Ariel was nearby, I could ask him what was going on, but when he was at the other end of the field working, I pestered a guy seated nearby.
I needed a play by play from an announcer and Instant Playback on a Jumbotron!
During half time I did the crazy old lady thing and scrolled on my phone to photos of my 9-year-old great grandson in his uniform playing tackle football and showed them to the guy I had pestered! And when I saw our newspaper’s photographer, Bob Minenna, I showed them to him!
Can’t take me anywhere, but Minenna did say the photos were good and he talked about kid football for a minute so I wasn’t
too ashamed of myself. Back to the game – the Knights blasted toward the goal line where I sat and instead of firing off some photos I watched, cheering the ball carrier on! Like a real fan.
With Clear Lake being unbeaten for the season, excitement was at a high with Kelseyville in the lead. They just might win the Bass Bowl Trophy!
With just a couple of minutes left of play, the Knights pulled off another touchdown finishing the game with a 42-14 win.
What’s a girl to do?…become a sports reporter? Not!
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a columnist for the Record-Bee. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com
