College Football and Other Thoughts: Seven Haibun
Image credit: “Harvard-McGill Football Game, 1874.” From Football: The American Intercollegiate Game by Parke H. Davis (1911). Author unknown. Public domain. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A New College Football Season
With late August 2026 came a new college football season. Despite my repeated resolutions not to care about college football, I am still following it. Indeed, I had eagerly waited for the arrival of this new season since the end of the last season.
What excites me most about college football is the unpredictability of the game. Who would have thought that Rutgers would decisively lose to UMass at home, especially to one of the historical bottom feeders that went 0-12 in 2025? Who would have thought that Michigan would need a Hail Mary pass to beat Western Michigan at home on the final play, an unexpected outcome for the 16th-ranked team? The decision to add a second to the clock became controversial nationwide, and Western Michigan still maintains that it won the game.
After the game, Michigan fell out of the top 25 rankings, and everyone thought that the Oklahoma Sooners, ranked No. 11, would embarrass the Wolverines at Ann Arbor. Lo and behold, Michigan won the game 17-10. After the game, Sam Block of ESPN posted the following: “Your friend picked Oklahoma. Your enemy picked Oklahoma. Your neighbor picked Oklahoma. Your third cousin picked Oklahoma. Everyone you know picked Oklahoma. Michigan won.” Not many would disagree with this comment.
However, after watching college football for 38 years, I had the feeling that Oklahoma could easily lose the road game. The game is played by young men, and you never know how they will play on a certain Saturday. A week earlier, Michigan had been embarrassed nationally by its poor performance. The team wanted to prove itself against one of the elite teams in the nation, and it did so.
football scoreboard—
players surprised at
having won the game
The Reversal of Fortunes
Since 2003, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have won many games, including eight seasons with at least ten wins. However, the trend reversed in 2024, and head coach Mike Gundy and the university parted ways in September 2025. Oklahoma State finished the 2025 season with a 1-11 record.
The Oregon Ducks have fared much better. In recent years, the team has established itself as a national contender, reaching the College Football Playoff in each of the past two seasons and winning the Big Ten Championship in 2024. The 2026 season began with Oregon ranked second in the nation. In its season opener, at home against Boise State, Oregon narrowly won 34 to 27 after trailing at halftime.
In its second game, against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oregon lost 39 to 31. Oregon entered the game as a heavy favorite, but OSU pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the young season.
I didn’t have a proverbial dog in this game, but the lesson seems clear: you can never overlook an opponent in football, and last year’s win-loss records mean little once a new season begins. Last year, Oregon beat OSU in Eugene 69 to 3, and some people may have expected a similar result this year. But that kind of blowout didn’t happen.
someone else’s football game—
I decide to cheer
for the winner
Getting Bombed and Publicized
On September 12, 2026, the James Madison University Dukes beat the Wagner College Seahawks 82 to 3. Three of the touchdowns came on punt returns. Given that some teams would have a hard time scoring 21 points, the lopsided victory was a historic one for James Madison, coached by Bill Napier, a former Florida head coach. It almost seemed like an intense form of redemption for Napier.
Although the crushing defeat put Wagner in an embarrassing position, it also gave the school something that small colleges can hardly earn: national publicity. Before I saw the final score, I had never heard of the college. My Google search showed that it is an ELCA school located in Staten Island, New York. There is a cliché that any publicity is good publicity, and getting publicized after losing a football game is not necessarily the worst kind of publicity. You win some games, and you lose some others. That is life.
Getting the school’s name on television screens and social media multiple times in a single day is free advertising. Even those who have no vested interest in the game learn about a small college that most people have never heard of. In that sense, Wagner may have lost badly, but the school did gain something from the experience.
small school’s football loss—
the marketing team
smiles
For Domestic Peace
One of my hobbies is watching animals on YouTube. Both intelligent and playful, they offer great entertainment. The other day, I watched a lion family in Africa resting together. The dad lion was trying to take a nap while the lioness watched her cubs playing. The restless and energetic cubs began to pester their dad, playing with his tail and climbing on him. Annoyed, the lion rose and gently pushed one of them away. It was not even a kick. Without missing an opportunity to teach him a lesson, the overprotective lioness approached him and punched him in the face twice. Even before she hit him, he seemed to know what was coming, and his face showed a look of resignation. Afterward, he trudged away from her, almost shaking his head. Meanwhile, the cubs were proud of their mom and seemed to sneer at their huge but powerless dad.
hill troublemaker—
one look from his wife
calms him down
The Ultimate Destination
As someone who has lived in the United States for more than 38 years, I have yet to visit New York City. In my younger years, I had opportunities to visit Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, mostly as part of my conference travels. However, New York City has always seemed too big for me. I have seen it on TV numerous times, so it doesn’t mystify me much, either. However, it does remain the cultural center of the United States. Most academic and commercial books are published in the city, and I have cited thousands of those books in my academic papers. So, it does have an aura around it.
Although NYC is not on my bucket list of places to visit, I may have an opportunity to see it in 2028. A music professor at my university, who takes students to NYC for performances at well-known venues once every few years, has invited me to accompany the group that year. As a lifelong countryman at heart, I am too timid to go to a big city alone. However, I am good at following a group wherever it goes. The professor has visited the city numerous times, so I can trust him. After the trip, I would finally be able to claim that I have been there. I am sure the itinerary will include a ferry tour of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which I’d love to see.
Manhattan—
at least I have lived in
Manhattan, Kansas
Morning News from Mississippi
On the early morning of Labor Day 2026, a poet-scholar friend in Mississippi emailed me, informing me that an English professor whom we know well had passed away. Having known her since 2014, I was not totally surprised: she had looked weak and had difficulty with speech for years. I don’t know her age, but she may have been in her fifties. As the excellent editor of our peer-reviewed academic journal, she always liked my submissions. Someone else will likely take over the journal, but I still miss her very much.
Our annual conference, held at her university in March 2026, was the last time we had an opportunity to speak to each other. Having lost several people close to me since 2023, I have become somewhat numb to the news of someone’s passing. It’s a cliché, but everyone dies at some point. At least, she no longer suffers in this world: no physical limitations, no papers to grade, and no editing to be done now.
professor’s passing
her office looks the same
as yesterday
The Solace of Home
The massive glacier-caused flash floods in Nepal in August 2026 sent shock waves around the world. They claimed thousands of lives in a short time. The floods began modestly, grew larger, and then turned into gigantic torrents that swept through the valley. The victims had little time to escape the violent streams of water, which rose as high as a five-story building.
The footage did not make me feel relieved, which would be selfish. After all, the victims included civilians, construction workers, pilgrims, and government officials. At the same time, as someone who has lived in two countries and visited thirteen others, I was glad that I did not have to deal with the inconveniences and uncertainties of foreign travel. Most tourist destinations overseas are safe, but there is no place safer than home.
Having seen enough of the world, which is fundamentally the same wherever I go, I would rather eat, rest, and watch YouTube in the comfort of my own home.
life of travel—
my front door
my favorite destination
About the Author
Professor of English and Creative Writing and Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and Theology, Missouri Baptist University
John J. Han, PhD, is the author, editor, co-editor, or translator of 38 books. His forthcoming book, Echoes from the Hills: Critical Essays on Ozarks Literature (co-edited with C. Clark Triplett), will be published by the University of Arkansas Press. He has also published more than 3,000 poems, primarily haiku, in a wide range of journals and anthologies. In addition to his long tenure at Missouri Baptist University, he has taught at Kansas State University, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and Washington University in St. Louis. He has also served as a visiting scholar at Georgia College & State University and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia.
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