My brother’s wife, Deborah, is a political activist from Michigan with a strong liberal viewpoint.
We suspected she was different years ago when she sat down with the men for Christmas dinner instead of joining the women and children at the little table. Most troubled by this defiance of tradition was my cousin, Wade, known lovingly in our family as “Booger Red.” He is a truck driver who supports every conservative cause short of secession from the union.
It’s become a tradition to watch those two go at it nearly every Christmas. The best the rest of the family can do is stand back, enjoy the show, and hope no one gets stabbed with a fork.
Bentonville and Fayetteville have started their own tradition by fighting over the championship trophy in Class 7A. It started in 2010 when Bentonville culminated a 13-0 season by beating Fayetteville 49-28 in the championship game at Little Rock. Fayetteville won the state championship last year after gambling in overtime on a two-point conversion that gave the Bulldogs a 29-28 victory over the Tigers.
Bentonville is again undefeated and eager to reclaim the Class 7A title against Fayetteville at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday. It is the seventh consecutive year that two teams from the 7A-West will meet for the state championship.
Bentonville beat Fayetteville 24-17 four weeks ago in conference play at Tiger Stadium. But that outcome doesn’t mean much, considering the Bulldogs lost 41-6 to the Tigers last season before winning the state championship.
Fayetteville is listed as a 1-point favorite over Bentonville in Saturday’s rematch by those gurus of the gridiron, Chad and Chris Hooten.
As for my sister-in-law, Deborah, she’s been installed a 7-point favorite over my conservative cousin at this year’s family gathering. Apparently, Wade isn’t up on his politics after being incarcerated for distributing his home-made liquor across state lines.
Who knew you had to have a license for that?
RICK’S PICK Bentonville
Other games involving teams from Northwest Arkansas (selections are capitalized).
CLASS 6A
GREENWOOD vs. Pine Bluff
CLASS 4A
OZARK at Highland
PRAIRIE GROVE at Stuttgart
LAST WEEK 6-1 (85 percent)
OVERALL 163-43 (79 percent)