Buckeye Germs!

As a camp counselor for 4, 5, and 6-year olds, I run into plenty of cute kids every day. There are few cuter than this shy 4-year old named Taylor. She is one of those kids you'd love to have as a parent. She's polite, playful and precious as can be. Taylor only has one glaring, tragic, and damnable flaw: She's a diehard Michigan fan!

It's hard to place the blame on Taylor. Both her parents are Michigan grads (apparently some graduate) and more often than not they are wearing maize and blue when they pick her up. At such an early age, it isn't hard for one to be brainwashed, thus, I have taken it on as my summer project to show her the light and convert her. Unfortunately she's been unresponsive. She's only spoken a few words to me all summer. Our normal conversation goes like this:

"What are the magic words Taylor?"
Taylor: (Silence)
"Come on Taylor, you know them!"
Taylor: (Silence)
"Go Bucks!"
Taylor: Mr. Doug, It's not "Go Bucks!" It's "Go Blue!"

Every day, it's the same blasphemous story. I'd like to think I'm making progress, but with each passing day, the hope fades.

Today, our rivalry reached a new peak. For the first time this summer, I dared to wear a good shirt to camp, an Ohio State Football shirt. And predictably, Taylor came to camp in her usual Michigan shirt.

Laughing and playing, she looked quite precious and innocent, almost like a normal 4-year old girl. She came up to me and gave me a big hug. But oh, how devious are her ways.

As soon as she had me in her grasp, she began wiggling back and forth. Confused, I asked, "What are you doing?" She didn't answer. I questioned her a few more times, and each time I was met with silence. It wasn't until I asked another counselor that I discovered Taylor's evil scheme.

"Don't you see Mr. Doug. She's rubbing Michigan all over you."

YUCK!!!

Feeling violated, I pushed her away. Immediatly, I shouted "Buckeye Germs!" and started chasing her around the room. Soon, a dozen 4-6 year olds joined in pursuit. They all shouted "Buckeye Germs!" as they chased after Taylor.

Eventually all hell broke loose, and they began chasing each other, shouting "Buckeye Germs!" It quickly became apparent that they didn't understand college football's greatest rivalry.

Later in the day, one of my little campers came up and asked:

"Mr. Doug, can we play Buckeye Germs?"