Football championship game could spark family rivalry

Now that our Golden Gophers have completed their promising season with a heartbreaking Texas Bowl loss, a brief scan of upcoming college football action produces the possibility of an inter-familial rivalry.

Cousin Harold
Lifetime Bison fan

We just received Christmas Greetings from our cousins in North Dakota. Harold and Marilyn Rolfsrud recently moved to Bismarck, from the farm near Keene, but they'll be spending January in Florida. Their stay will be interrupted briefly while Harold flies to Frisco, Texas, to join other family members for the big Football Championship Subdivision title game there. His North Dakota State Bison are undefeated and favored to squash Towson.

Here's what the Associated Press says:
"North Dakota State football fans are making what has become an annual pilgrimage to Texas for the Football Championship Subdivision finale, including thousands of fans who don't have tickets for the game, school officials said Monday.

"The Bison will be aiming for their third consecutive FCS championship when they play Towson at Toyota Stadium on Jan. 4. NDSU officials say there have been 6,000 requests for the 4,000 tickets that have been made available so far by the NCAA.

"While many fans have taken to ticket brokers and the Internet to find seats, NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said many of them are happy to soak up the atmosphere around the game and a Friday pre-party."

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We have to assume that our dear resourceful cousins have secured good seats to see their Beloved Bison take on Towson. The who, you say? The Towson Tigers from somewhere north of Baltimore.
Turns out, this matchup is the source of possible inter-familial rivalry. It is a little-known historical fact that Harold's cousin, Sosie, attended Towson back in the 70s. So she can be counted among the Towson backers.
But will she fly to Frisco, Texas, to sit in a sports bar, soak up the atmosphere and root against her cousin?
If history be any guide, we doubt it.

Here's what Sosie says:
"When we lived in Baltimore, I earned my Master's degree at Towson. My most memorable moment in that endeavor was breaking up a traffic jam.

"I had driven on the beltway to Towson for class and the snow had created a mess and I ended up in the middle of a knot of cars. I was able to turn our Volvo station wagon in such a tight turn that I could unsnarl the mess. Other drivers applauded me! Yes me, using snow-driving skills to rescue others. Memorable indeed.
Go Tigers Go!
Sosie