Counting On, Season 4 Part 2: Still Far Behind Real Life

[Cheetah]

9 hours ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Welcome to the South, where everything is about "your" football team. Doesn't matter how long ago you attended, or even you went to school somewhere else. When it's football, it's your life.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Not just the south... I grew up in Nebraska where college football is the state religion, and then there's my kids' former math teacher, a Michigan alum, who is just rabid about it.  Like for the school pajama day he came in his Michigan footy jammies.  

If you think it's weird to have kid paraphernalia from a college football team, do you also think it's weird if they have MLB or NFL birthday cakes/ room decor/ etc?  I think the states where college football is so huge are the states that don't have a major league sports team.  

[SapphireSlytherin]

40 minutes ago, Seculardaisy said:

All this talk about razorbacks being huge in duggarland reminds me that I need to be a BEC and say that I think this decoration in the Seewald home is hideous and makes me cringe every time I see it on the show.

  Hide contents

 

Surely you recall that their wedding recessional was the Razorback fight song?

[Seculardaisy]

@SapphireSlytherin haha I forgot about that.

[TatertotAsserole]

On 9/26/2017 at 4:37 PM, singsingsing said:

-Little sisters so devastated that you're leaving home that they're literally sobbing as they clutch at you

Sister-momming does real damage. I grew up in a non-fundie family (not even christian). My sister and I are 10 and 11 years older than our brother, respectively. My mom did the bulk of the parenting with him but my sister and I did a hell of a lot more than my dad. He's not a Boob-level narcissist but he is a physician who works 80+ hours/week. My brother needed some serious therapy when my sister left for college. And he needed even more therapy as a teenager to start taking my father seriously as a parent. Luckily, my parents are secular liberals/libertarians who believe in psychotherapy, western meds, and admitting their mistakes. 

[TatertotAsserole]

48 minutes ago, Cheetah said:

Not just the south... I grew up in Nebraska where college football is the state religion,

I grew up in Indiana and remember feeling very out of place because my parents/family didn't care about college sports. My father didn't go to college in the US. My mom went to a commuter school at 16 (finished her bachelors in comp sci at 19). I was brought up with this crazy notion that college is a place to learn things and not a sports arena. 

 

Meanwhile, our neighbors (neither of whom went to college) decked their entire house out in Purdue and Notre Dame furnishings. It was quite the *~aesthetic~*

[Maggie Mae]

1 hour ago, Cheetah said:

 I think the states where college football is so huge are the states that don't have a major league sports team.  

That might just be Alabama though. I grew up with the Big 10 and I knew for as long as I can remember that Ohio is the worst and I would probably be disowned. People also supported our NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL team. I of course, chose a different team later in a different state. 

Big 10 Schools: 

• Michigan - Michigan has an NFL Team (lions), NBA Team(Pistons), NHL Team (Red Wings), and MLB (tigers)
• Michigan State - See above
• Penn State - NFL (Eagles), NBA, NHL, MLB 
• Rutgers - It's in New Jersey
• Illinois - Bears, Black Hawks, Bulls, White Sox, Cubs
• Iowa - 
• Minnesota - Vikings, Twins, Timberwolves, Wild
• Nebraska - 
• Northwestern - It's in Illinois, so same as IU
• Perdue - Indiana - Colts, Pacers
• Wisconsin - GB Packers, Brewers, and I think they have a basketball team 
• Oh, and Ohio - who cares. (Reds, Browns, Indians, Bengals, Cavaliers, and I think they have a hockey team) 

University of Michigan's stadium is the largest or second largest in the US. I can't remember if it seats fewer people than Alabama or not. 

[singsingsing]

My dad taught me to say 'Go Blue!' in my high chair. I still sometimes find myself humming, hail to the victors valiant, hail to the conquering heroes...

I don't even watch football. Never have.

[Seculardaisy]

20 minutes ago, singsingsing said:

My dad taught me to say 'Go Blue!' in my high chair. I still sometimes find myself humming, hail to the victors valiant, hail to the conquering heroes...

I don't even watch football. Never have.

Yeah we're a Michigan family all the way.  We have lots of Michigan gear, we don't really decorate with it but certainly all of our kids have U of M clothes and know about the team/sport.

I know somebody said college football is big where there's no NFL team but we have the Lions, granted they're not the greatest team in the world.

[RosyDaisy]

Ok, I can't read a thread were there are references to Alabama and football without shouting ROOOOOOOOOOOOL TIDE!!!!!! College football is a religion here.

Oh, Michigan is the largest stadium.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

3 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

I agree, it's normal when football is a huge part of the culture. In Arkansas, a lot of people identify with the Razorbacks whether they have gone/intend to go to the UofA or not.

A quick google search found a lot of kids' cakes and birthday parties with a Razorbacks theme.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Yes in parts of the US where there are no professional sports teams and even where they are, college teams are loved.  Football is a religion much of the US, From Friday Night lights (High School football), Saturday college games to Pro games Sunday, Monday Thursday and what ever other freaking day of the week they are on. Wedding, and big events are scheduled so as not to conflict with game times. 

[Jinder Roles]

I personally can't roast Joy for how she handled the appointment because I would be much worse. I had a near meltdown the day of prom (to be fair, prom is super over-the-top where I lived) And it takes me weeks to finally decide what lipstick I want to buy, much less an article of clothing.

The editing of the episode just doesn't make for good TV and makes Joy seem less mature/likeable.

[neurogirl]

This episode has made me the slightest bit nervous for shopping for my wedding dress! I am de facto the only granddaughter in a very traditional Midwestern family. Even BEFORE I got engaged, my aunts and grandma essentially told me they were joining me for dress shopping. And so they are. On Veteran's Day weekend I am flying to a small Midwestern city  to try on dresses with my mom, future MIL (who is also flying across the country for this), grandmother, and two aunts. Did I mention I'm "not allowed" to try on dresses before that? My mom lost her mom when she was a teenager, and as an only child I know my mother is super happy to be involved. But I am also hoping to keep some semblance of sanity at the appointment and get what I want. I know its entirely up to me, but it is harder for someone with an enmeshed family and people-pleasing attitude. So I feel for Joy on this one! 

[calimojo]

1 hour ago, Jinder Roles said:

I personally can't roast Joy for how she handled the appointment because I would be much worse. I had a near meltdown the day of prom (to be fair, prom is super over-the-top where I lived) And it takes me weeks to finally decide what lipstick I want to buy, much less an article of clothing.

The editing of the episode just doesn't make for good TV and makes Joy seem less mature/likeable.

I am not roasting Joy. In fact, I think most people just felt badly for her.  She seemed stressed, uncomfortable and not like normal self.  When she was practically whispering "I don't know" to every question you could just see how painful this was for her. 

I think this episode was sad.  And yet,  I think Joy may end up in a better situation out and away from the TTH.  Austin seems nice enough, and his family seems to at least be able to handle normal levels of affection between family members.  He has a good work ethic and I always got the impression that Joy didn't shy away from hard work either. Hopefully they will gel when it comes to working on projects together.  And this may be good for Joy, to see the benefit of her work.  I hope this first early pregnancy will be her last for awhile.  Not that I wish her fertility issues, but I just would like for them to slow things down and learn about each other.  That won't happen of course, but it would be nice. 

It was sad for the little girls.  And while Jenny seemed very distraught,  I was actually more concerned about Jordyn's very flat affect.  She was always the most ignored baby due to Josie's difficulties.  She always seemed like a bubbly and happy little girl despite what seems like an unavoidable lack of connection to her parents because of the timing of Josie's birth.  But in the last 2 years, she seems flat, blunted and disconnected.  (If someone can post the birthday video where Michelle is so awkward with her and Jordyn looks completely checked out, you will see what I mean. )

Even during the packing scene,  Jordyn seemed lacking in interest at all in what was going on.  She didn't cry, that I recall during the bridal shop scene.  It is understandable that Jenny would cry, but Jordyn was just flat.  Made me sad as I have always had a soft spot for that little girl.  She had a stolen babyhood.  Not Josie's fault, of course, but she was this adorable, sweet little baby just drifting about in that big house in Little Rock amidst all that chaos.  The howlers were at the top of their Howling days.  The sister Moms were overwhelmed and lacking in direction.  John and Joe, who may have been  a stable presence in that home, spent much of the time back at the TTH keeping that place running. 

[ItsMeY'all]

Huh, I just assumed this kind of cake was normal for kids (and as the groom's cake at weddings!).

I've been to 3 Michigan birthday parties in under two years where the kids picked the themes.  My cousin's kid wanted a "Bullet cake and party" every year from the time he was two until he was six. "Bullet" is the horse ridden onto the field every time OK State scores a touchdown.  Of course, my cousin had season tickets to OSU football games (and lived in Stillwater) from the time her kids were babies so it isn't exactly surprising the kids would love the mascot and the horse. It isn't like they understood the game at that age but a horse racing out onto the field with the music going and fans cheering is pretty fun. I've also known many OK kids to want "Boomer and Sooner horse" parties.

My almost two year old niece is obsessed with OK State but I think for her it is because game day means a "special" t-shirt, cartoon like characters (Pistol Pete), horses, cheerleaders in sparkling sequened outfits, and most of all fun songs. Her favorite is singing and acting out The Waving Song after we score but really any upbeat song with motions is exciting for her. School fight songs with motions are basically like The Wheels on the Bus to a two year old! I'm assuming an OSU game day isn't quite the same for poor little Izzy as it is for my niece. I just don't see Dwreck bouncing Izzy on his knees while singing "Ride 'em Cowboys" the way my brother does his kids. 

Our oldest niece was born and raised in Boston to two OU grads but happened to walk through when the tv had the Florida Gators fans doing their "Go Gators" song with the jaws chomping motion with their arms. She became obsessed. They first found it cute and bought her a cd with the song but it quickly got out of hand. She literally busted out singing it during the children's story at church one Sunday. She just turned 16 and still loves The Gators and hopes to go there for college. It all started with that stupid song.

There really is a lot of tradition with many of these schools that I could see being highly attractive to a two year old, I just find it hard to believe that Izzy has been exposed to enough of it to care. Taking the kid to one Homecoming and Walk Around when he is barely a year old (he went last year, right?) is a way different kind of exposure than most of the kids I know have had. 

[candygirl200413]

Grad School is actually the first time I went to a school with a football team and an actually decent team at that. (HS sucked but as long as won against our rival we counted that as a great season while both my undergrad schools had no team). But I'm in PA and cheered on PSU even though no one in my family had any type of connection.

NFL wise though if I have kids I already know they're going home in a flyeaglesfly onesie

[stardust]

59 minutes ago, ItsMeY'all said:

Our oldest niece was born and raised in Boston to two OU grads but happened to walk through when the tv had the Florida Gators fans doing their "Go Gators" song with the jaws chomping motion with their arms. She became obsessed. They first found it cute and bought her a cd with the song but it quickly got out of hand. She literally busted out singing it during the children's story at church one Sunday. She just turned 16 and still loves The Gators and hopes to go there for college. It all started with that stupid song.

 

I'm currently a junior at UF, graduating next year in 2018!! Tell your niece we'd love to have her here!! We're now ranked in the top 10 (#9!) best public colleges in the nation!  

I was never much of a football gal myself before I got accepted to the school, but there's something contagious about being surrounded by thousands of fans when we beat Tennessee two weeks ago and even better when we beat Kentucky for the 31st time in a row on Saturday. Our offense sucks and half the team is suspended, yet we always find a way to get the job done anyhow. It's great to be a Florida Gator! (football has brought out my competitive side as you can see )

[Snarkylark]

Just stopping in to say Izzy's name WAS on his cake. 

[feministxtian]

When my stepdaughter J was wedding dress shopping, she didn't even ask her mother to go with her. It was J, her future MIL and me. I had pretty much no opinion, she's 5'9" and a size 4 or so. Her father and I were buying her dress as a gift to her. Her future MIL wasn't that opinionated either. It turns out she had put one dress on sort of layaway and went browsing in another boutique and saw a dress she liked more. She tried it on and OH MY GOSH...she looked absolutely fabulous. It was also less expensive than the first dress so I happily laid down the credit card for it. 

When hubs and I got married, I wore a nice skirt, blouse and blazer. he wore a suit. Then we went out to lunch, went home and I changed into my horrendously pizza sauce smelling work clothes and went to work (I was the manager of a pizza place and the store manager HAD to work Friday/Saturday nights). 

Kids and cakes and schools/sports. My girls all had girly-type cakes. The boys...I vaguely remember a Batman cake, a Colts cake, a lego cake and maybe a few others that I've forgotten. We lived in SW Indiana so you HAD to be an IU, and Colts fan. UK/Perdue/NotreDame...thems was fighting words!!!

[Shadoewolf]

I've been raised as a Michigan fan my whole life. I've taught my kids Go Blue from the time they could talk. Hubby is a Notre Dame fan and buys our son ND gear anytime he can find it here but Go Blue is the rallying cry at our house. I jokingly tell my high school seniors they better not apply to Ohio State, instant banishment!

[griffin]

Why did they bother with that phony cake tasting? She couldn't even come up with one opinion. Complete waste of time. How does someone NOT have a flavor of cake they like?? There are a million cake options and she lands on white cake with white icing. White cake is like chewing on packing peanuts.

Joy is developmentally stunted, immature, socially inept, uneducated (all through no fault of her own) and has NO business getting married. If Austin has half a brain, he is going to be bored to death with her very soon. She has nothing to offer. That can be cutesy for a guy for awhile, but it gets old fast.

[feministxtian]

It doesn't matter if Austin is bored with her...it doesn't matter. She's a girl, he's a guy, the lego pieces fit and they have their "til death do us part". Being happy, being content doesn't even enter into the whole relationship. 

[griffin]

I hope ignorance really is bliss

[Iokaste]

The intimate relationship between sport and higher education in the US, is so weird to me. Seriously why and how did this happen?
I get that now there is a lot of money and prestige tied up in it, but shouldn't university be about education and research and knowledge? 
It's probably just my deep skepsis and distrust in the benefits of professional sport overall, but I cringe when I see otherwise reasonable and intelligent people participate in sport culture.    
 

[Eternalbluepearl]

12 hours ago, Cheetah said:

If you think it's weird to have kid paraphernalia from a college football team, do you also think it's weird if they have MLB or NFL birthday cakes/ room decor/ etc? 

I see what you're saying that it's pretty common. I was just feeling like we are seeing so much of Derick's personality but not Israel's. And we get enough of Derick as it is. 

[Irene]

OMG, that as a bbboring episode.