Who are you rooting for?

Yellow.  That is the favorite color in our house, especially during football season.  We root for two teams in yellow.  If you know our family, you know that the Hawkeyes are a big part of the Hansen "love" list.

But you may not know that our other team sporting yellow (or bronze) is the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos (yes, the spelling is correct!).  Mike and I are both alumni from this school.  I love the university so much that I have been working there for 6 years. 

We live very close to the university, which is so much fun.  I love that we can faintly hear the action on the football field from our backyard.  Every time we drive by the stadium, Andrew asks "That's MY football field and Bronchos, right mom? Right?" 

This past weekend was Homecoming, and it was so much fun.  My office put together a Homecoming parade float - which was the coolest one there!  We decorated Andrew's bike so he could ride it in the parade along with the float.  He had a blast!

He was handing out candy to all of the children on the side of the street - giving everyone their fair-share of one piece each!  My favorite moments of the morning parade festivities were of Andrew riding like a mad man to get back in front of the float (which was really more like an awesome party bus) after getting distracted by handing out candy.  He put his little head down and started to peddle like mad.  As soon as he got going, the bag of candy that was resting on his handle bars broke and showered the street with candy for a good six feet or more.  It was a beautiful scene trailing after him in a perfect line of sweetness.  He was very sad, of course.

But that sadness was put aside, and brings me to my second favorite moment.  There were of course several police officers out along the parade route redirecting traffic and watching out for the safety of the parade participants.  One of the police officers was a burly guy on a motorcycle.  Andrew without hesitating rode straight up to him and asked him if he would like a sucker.  It was the greatest image, one that should be a Norman Rockwell painting.

That night as I tucked Andrew in bed, I asked Andrew what his favorite part of the day was.  Of course he said the parade, then as I was turning off his lights he said, "Mom, I really love my Bronchos."  "Me too," I echoed.

Living in a university town (for the time being) is great.  There is always something going on, and I am in love with the vibes of knowledge that surround a university campus and the community that benefits from its presence.

Gotta love the Bronze and Blue! Go Bronchos!

Andrew in the campus library.



Andrew with decades of Central Broncho mascots.