Over the River and Through the Snow to Northern Illinois We Go!

What a trip!! Wow. Ohio traveled to Northern Illinois for a Wednesday night game and here is how the trip was supposed to go: Meet at the Convocation Center in Athens at 5:00 Tuesday night, drive to the charter plane and fly to Northern Illinois, wake up the next morning to beat the Huskies and fly back Wednesday night. Simple right?

Here is how the trip went: Huge snow storm, meet at 9:00 in the morning Tuesday and start the drive to Northern, stop in Indianapolis because the weather was too dangerous, wake up the next morning and finish driving, lose to the Huskies (who were only 2-8 in the MAC), another bus ride to Indianapolis through the night, crash at the hotel for a few hours and arrive in Athens at 2:30 in the afternoon Thursday. Ahh!!

Not only did these players and coaches lose one of the most "winable" games of the season, but they also missed roughly 5-8 classes and are fueled by approximately four hours of sleep. To add to hectic travel schedule, the lady Bobcats are already on the way to Bowling Green to face off against the best team in the MAC. And who said being a college athlete was easy?

So how exactly do the girls deal with all of the missed classes and down time on the bus?

"Each player is required to fulfill a specific number of study table hours based on academic performance. We recognize that the classroom is the first priority and that is why we are called student-athletes. The bus trips are a great way to get a few hours of studying in and we make sure the team gets those hours in," said Assistant Coach Karen Hewitt.

But having traveled with the team, I know how hard it is to focus on school work on a bus especially when there is no internet and your laptop only lasts as long as its battery. So, to help ease the pain of the trip, most of the parents send the girls home from games with more baked goods than you could ever imagine! The bus ride home consists of a snack every hour, at least. The first hour this trip we had famous cupcakes from a hometown bakery on Northern Illinois' campus. The second hour we devoured Tina Fisher's chocolate chip cookies that her mother baked. The third hour was heart-shaped brownies and the fourth hour was homemade sugar cookies! See the tips aren't all that bad!

Anyways, off to Bowling Green we go. The Bobcats fell to the Falcons earlier this season 77-42 in Athens and tomorrow's matchup will not be an easy one. Cross your fingers for an Ohio upset.

Fun Fact: Two years ago, Ohio upset Bowling Green in double-overtime during the MAC Tournament to advance to the MAC Championship in Cleveland. It has been done before.

Go Bobcats!