'Arch'

It's the beginning of my college football Saturdays for the 2025 season today.

Once I have showered, I'll be putting on the Texas Longhorns t-shirt Vicki gifted me last year. It was an early Christmas present so I could wear it during the college football season - especially on days when the Longhorns played.

The University of Texas was the team we both chose to follow last season because Arch Manning had joined as one of the quarterbacks.

As I've already written countless times over the years, Peyton Manning is my favourite player ever. So, I have been keen to see how his nephew - Arch - fares in the sport.

Vicki would keep me updated about Arch's high school career, and we were obviously interested to see which college he would land at when the time came. He chose Texas.

So, Vick being Vick, she bought me a Longhorns t-shirt so I could wear it on the days when the team played 

The funny thing about presents like that is I often keep them to collect rather than wear them. Vick was adamant that I had to wear the shirt on game days. There was no alternative option - it had to be worn.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned yesterday - DAZN has picked up the NCAA games TV contract that was available for those in the UK. However, I have looked at the schedule and it doesn't look like we're getting the Texas game against Ohio State.

It'll be Arch Manning's first season as the official starting quarterback so I'm a bit irked about not getting to watch game one live. Still, I shall wear the shirt and root for them by keeping track of the scores.

The Longhorns game against San Jose State - set for next weekend - is on the schedule, however. I'll have the shirt ready for that one as well!

All this American football news this week has made Vicki's absence all the more prominent to me. Like the other day, I saw those McCoy's packets with the NFL logo on them and I immediately thought 'I had better show Vick' before realising. Then, there was that news about Channel 5 having a game show aspect to the coverage of one of its weekly fixtures. I thought to myself 'I wonder what Vick would have said about that?'

The funny thing about those two examples is I believe I have a very good guess as to what her reactions would have been. Vick would have wowed at the NFL logo on the British 'potato chips' (ha!) and, I have a very strong feeling she would have been equally puzzled by the randomness of Channel 5 doing a game show aspect to the 6pm  game and would have simply said 'Ok then'. 

I want to close out this post with something I found when looking for Arch Manning content in the messages Vick and I shared.

A couple of months ago, I tried ordering the McDonald's Big Arch burger for lunch and had to cancel because no one had picked up the order in over an hour or something. I told Vick about cancelling 'the new McDonald's burger' and she asked what it was called.

I shared a screenshot of the product and its ingredients along with its name. Vick liked, no - loved - that it had 'Arch' in its moniker.

Me? Well - I hadn't made the 'Arch' connection, so - once it dawned on me what she meant - I realised the coincidence that I was actually wearing the Texas shirt at that very moment.

Little did I know then how much that random conversation would mean to me months later. And beyond.

So, yes - I'll have the shirt on today. For Vicki and for Arch Manning. I'll also have a Diet Coke when the time comes.