There are two versions of life running at the same time, the one you used to live and the life you live now, and every now and then they collide in a way that forces you to appreciate both.

University of Michigan sports has a way of doing that to me. I didn’t go to Indianapolis for The Final Four this year. One of my sons was home for spring break, the other was out in Boulder, we’ve got travel coming up, his graduation is around the corner, and quite frankly it’s all expensive, not just in dollars but in energy and time.

So instead of getting on a plane, I went out, bought five filet mignons, came home, hit the sauna, got in the plunge, put on my Michigan gear, cooked an incredible meal and watched the game from what felt like the best seat in the house, front row on my 65-inch TV with my family around me.

Every minute or so my phone buzzed with the group text from the guys, my fraternity brothers and college friends. There were pictures from Indy, a few getting off the rented private jet they all chipped in on, their kids with them now, some of those kids going to Michigan too, more pictures of “look who I ran into,” a few where you had to really look to recognize the face until it hit you, and the honest truth that time has been better to some than others. I sat there feeling good, present, and at the same time aware that I was both part of it and not part of it.

College sports loyalty isn’t really about the games, it’s about the reps, the years of showing up, the tailgates, the road trips, the shared wins and losses, the text threads that never die, the traditions that get repeated until they become identity. Thirty years later what you’re seeing on those trips isn’t fandom, it’s the compound interest of time invested together. Those relationships feel effortless now but they were built very intentionally back then. And that’s where it gets complicated for me because I didn’t build it that way.

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I’ve been there. Not every year, not with the same consistency, but enough to know exactly what it feels like. My son’s first football game was Michigan versus Ohio State in the Big House, walking into that stadium with him and feeling the weight of what that rivalry means to so many people. I also remember it was freezing, snowing and he thought the flyover was the best part and we left at halftime and had pizza and watched the rest on TV.

I remember the drive in a Miata convertible from Las Vegas to the Rose Bowl with my roommate, top down, sun coming up, thinking this is what college life is supposed to feel like. Freshman year, piling into a car for an overnight drive to Minneapolis to watch the Fab Five’s first Final Four, no plan, no sleep, just energy and the pull of being part of something. In 2018 I took my son to San Antonio for the Final Four, made the trip, saw all my same friends who are still doing it to this day. They never miss.

And most recently, having the National Championship football game in Houston, my adopted hometown, seeing Michigan everywhere, the parties, the people, the energy, and realizing that sometimes the moments around the game are actually better than the game itself.

All that being said, it feels great to be a winner.  Congratulations to my Michigan Wolverines on winning the National Championship.  It’s been a hell of a season and this was really fun to watch, experience and see so many of my friends getting together, smiling, enjoying each other and once again proving that maximizing (mid)life is really all about the experiences you have, the choices you make and the actions you take.

Go Blue!

In Health, 

Greg Scheinman

Founder, Midlife Male

Husband. Father. Entrepreneur. Coach.

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