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Along with free meals, pre-match jitters and the ants in my kitchen, Bell’s Blog is back!
Today we kick off our season - it’s about bloody time. After enduring an endless offseason and trying to care about two exhibition matches, the real thing is here.
We start with a home opener against DePaul. Last year we had a juicy Milwaukee Cup fixture first up, which had us hopping around in anticipation like Dustin Ashley after a Red Bull. Preparations have been more measured this time around, but apprehension creeps in nonetheless as the curtain raises on a fall we have high hopes for - especially when, like me, it’s your final one! There’s a lot of new faces, but there was in 2013 too, and remember how that turned out?
Since we arrived back from our various summer bases, the house I share with Dustin and Zach Stevenson has been a hotbed for Norwegians and haircuts. Peter Ingebrigtsen and Magnus Flaatedal, our new Scandinavians, literally lay in scorching slumber in our non-air conditioned living room before moving into the dorms. And the rest of the team have paid visits in search of new hair styles.
It has become apparent that the younger you are, the edgier you are, with our blonde freshman Reid Stevenson and Nick Moon receiving the most radical cuts. Admittedly, Nick took a bit of persuading to rock the curly mullet that will be flying down the wing this evening. In contrast, former player, Grad Assistant, future accountant and all-round quite old student Aaron Cranfill came in for a business-like short back and sides.
Dustin called in Agustin Rey to deliver his gameday trim, and at almost two o’clock in the afternoon, it seems Sean Taylor won’t be getting his. One notable absentee from the chair in front of our bathroom mirror is senior captain Richard Johnson. After years of dodgy free haircuts, he has decided to start stumping up $50 at a downtown salon because, in his words, “I have a funny shaped head.” We won’t argue Dick.
I look forward to updating Bell’s Blog weekly throughout the fall. But for now, I have a prematch meal at a local Italian place to attend. Woo-hoo!
