DALLAS – Stetzon Bair's attention is a bit divided over this College Football Playoff championship weekend. And you can't blame him one bit.
The Oregon junior offensive tackle and his wife, Bethany, are expecting their first child. Soon. Very soon. Their son is due on Saturday, two days before the national championship game against Ohio State.
While Stetzon is with the team in Dallas, Bethany is back in Oregon. There's a plan in place to get him back to Oregon if Bethany goes into labor and that plan was signified by the iPhone he had on the table during Saturday's media session. Ideally, Bethany won't have their son until after the game. But If he gets a call saying that Bethany is in labor, the plan gets rolling.
"The first thing I do is call our team travel guy, and he'll find a flight for me and get me over to the airport," Bair said about his plans.
It was a tough decision to make the trip, Bair said. However, he was comforted by the advice of their doctor who cautioned that firstborns often arrive late and the labor process could take a while.
"Yes, it definitely is just because – I think the hardest decision for me was to come out here," Bair said. "Leaving my wife at this time, this close in the pregnancy, was the hardest but after talking to my mother-in-law, she went out there … it was a little more comforting."
With the expectations attached to Oregon, a trip to Dallas in early January has always been a possibility. Bair was aware of that when they visited the doctor early in Bethany's pregnancy and found out the due date. His reaction?
"Um, should have waited a week," Bair said with a laugh.
Bair, 25, and his wife were married in 2012 after he served a two-year Mormon mission. Bethany is a former Oregon volleyball player and, according to Stetzon, can dunk a basketball at 6-feet tall and has a much better vertical than he does.
"Oh yeah, by far," he said laughing again. "She doesn't have 300 pounds to get up either."
Stetzon, who switched from defense to offense before the season and is the backup at left tackle, is listed at 6-9, 290 by Oregon. He and Bethany's combination of height and athleticism makes one future sport for their son pretty obvious.
"Basketball," Bair said.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
