Love Story

TigerBlog is something of a romantic. 

You know, he loves his musical theater and "Notting Hill" and old movies where love conquers all. He was happy when Rachel and Ross got together for good. He can run down a list of love songs that get to him every time. 

What could be better? 

Hey, TB even wrote a romance novel once and is working on a second one. You didn't know that? You can get it HERE with his shameless plug. 

He wrote yesterday about the first day of classes and the lessons that come from the four years that the athletes spend here — the "Education Through Athletics." He's written so many times about the friendships that are born on Princeton's rosters and how they last forever.

What he's left out for the most part would be the most romantic piece. It seems that he can't look on a team's Instagram without seeing a former Tiger athlete marrying another one. 

He mentioned how men's soccer alum Daniel Diaz-Bonilla married field hockey alum Sammy Popper a few weeks ago. There were a slew of volleyball-volleyball marriages this past summer as well, most recently Mary Claire Bartlett and Devin Stearns. 

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And to this list you can now add the coming union of two more Princeton soccer alums — Emma Davis and Kevin O'Toole, both of the Class of 2022. 

O'Toole as you probably remember won the Roper Trophy that year as the top senior male athlete in the class. Davis was also an All-Ivy selection. 

Again, TB saw the announcement on social media. When he did, he reached out to Kevin's mother Nancy, who went to the same high school as TigerBlog, to offer congratulations. During their conversation, he mentioned a mutual friend of theirs who recently became a grandfather, to which Nancy said something along the lines of not quite being ready for that. 

She did say that her son and Emma are made for each other. They certainly looked very much perfect together in this picture that Nancy sent to TB:

That will make your heart melt, right? 

Congratulations to Emma and Kevin (and the mother of the groom). And to everyone else who has or will meet a future spouse as a Princeton athlete. 

It's another special part of what goes on here. 

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Here is something that speaks to another part of the core mission of Princeton Athletics:

As we close the third summer of the Tigers Together Journey to Athletics, I am certain of why this work matters. It is not merely about bringing students to campus, nor only about exposure to Princeton Athletics. It is about creating a space where young people can explore athletics as a canvas for leadership, painting their own identities and perspectives through the act of self-discovery shaped by persistence, not perfection. 

That caught your attention, right? It was written by Myles Smith, Princeton Associate Athletic Director. For more, you can read his piece from goprincetontigers.com HERE. 

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The honor of playing the first game of the new NFL season belongs to the Super Bowl champs of the previous season, and this time that is the Philadelphia Eagles, who took down the Chiefs last February. 

The opening kickoff  will be tonight at Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles will host the Cowboys, who violated one of the biggest rules in sports last week. And what was that? 

Never do anything that makes your biggest opponents glad. In this case, it was the trade of Micah Parsons to the Packers. The corollary to Rule 1 is something like: "the idea is to get guys like Micah Parsons, not trade them away."

Princeton is represented by four players as opening day approaches. 

The @NFL season gets underway next week!

Super proud of our #PrincetonPros!

Let’s go @Steve_OCarlson, @AndreiIosivas, @Henbyrd and @TravisWJalen! #JUICE 🍊🥤 pic.twitter.com/wjRrNH2mXs

— Princeton Football (@PrincetonFTBL) August 29, 2025

Travis and the Indianapolis Colts open Sunday against the Dolphins. Iosivas, who has 10 TD receptions in his first two years and who has established himself as a big part of one of the best offenses in the NFL, opens his season against the Browns Sunday. 

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And while he's talking about the NFL, how about TB's picks for the year:

AFC Championship Game: Buffalo over Cincinnati
NFC Championship Game: Detroit over Washington
Super Bowl: Buffalo over Detroit

If he's right, he'll remind you in February. If he's wrong, you'll have long since forgotten.  

Back To School

TigerBlog remembers walking down Spruce Street towards the University Museum for his first-ever class as a college student. 

It was a perfect, sunny day. The walk took about 10 minutes or so, to a large lecture hall inside the building, which sits opposite Franklin Field. Anytime he's been back on the Penn campus for a game at the ancient stadium for all these decades, he's always glanced over at the museum and remembered that day.  

You know what really stands out? There was a crew paving a driveway at the hospital, and the smell of the tar was very strong and very prevalent. That smell has always taken him back to that walk.

He must have gone to at least a few other classes, since they did eventually give him a diploma. It currently sits proudly in a box inside a plastic bin on the bottom of a closet.

He also remembers walking outside of the David Rittenhouse Lab building, which is next to the Palestra, after the last final exam he ever took. It was also a sunny day, this time in May, not September. There used to be tennis courts in front of the DRL building and the Palestra, and he walked past them as he made his way back to his dorm. 

As he did so, he first threw into the garbage can at the one of the courts the pen he'd just used and the notebook he had. He also vividly remembers thinking that he had to replace "go to Penn" with "went to Penn."   

He has absolutely no memory of his walk to any other classroom, other than the generic "oh yeah, that class was in that building" thing. That first class and that final exam? 

Those he can remember in detail — even more than 40 years later. 

Who knew on that first day of school what direction his life would take? There was no way. 

If you'd joined him on his walk down Spruce Street and asked him what his career path would be, he would have said, probably with confidence, law. How wrong he would have been, right? 

Yesterday was the first day of classes at Princeton. 

For the members of the Class of 2029, it was the first time that they would be attending any college classes. Would they come away with the same memories that TB did all those years ago? 

For the returnees, it's the time to get back into whatever routine they have for classes, studying and all of that. Are they fans of early classes? Night classes? Labs? 

Princeton's approximately 1,000 athletes obviously had their first classes of 2025-26 yesterday. TigerBlog watched a lot of college football this past weekend, and he remarked to his friend Duncan Yin during one of those games that back when they were kids, you couldn't watch a college football game without having numerous mentions of majors, academic achievements and the rest. 

There was none of that on any of the games TB saw this weekend. There were references to where this one transferred from and what league that one played in a year ago. There was also talk of just how many news players were on each roster. 

The academic piece is not completely gone from college sports. One of TB's favorite things about Princeton is that it will never be gone from here. These are athletes who are also students, in an era when the phrase "student-athlete" mostly conjures up cynicism. 

Tiger freshmen have long answered the question "why Princeton?" with "it offers the best combination of athletics and academics." That remains the case today, and TB will never tire of hearing that. 

Congrats to all of the Princeton students who are now back into their classrooms. It's a lot of work, but it's well worth it.

For the athletes, you are challenging yourself in a way that not everyone your age is. This is what you've chosen, and you did so for a lot of reasons. Between now and the day that you are handed your own diploma and the day of your last competition as a Tiger, you will learn lessons about teamwork, time management, integrity and so many of the other values that combine to make up "Education Through Athletics."

In other words, what you learn about yourself will be as important to your future as what you learn from your professors. 

Julie Frymyer, TV Star

Did you see the commercial with Patrick Mahomes, Meghan Trainor and the Kansas City Chiefs' athletic trainer? 

It's cute and clever, with its play on an actual "trainer" and the pop star "Trainor," who tries to put a knee brace on an arm and who appears to have no idea who Mahomes is or what he does. Like TigerBlog said. Cute and clever.  

The one who steals the whole show, of course, is the athletic trainer, even if she has no lines in the commercial. Is it possible that TB is biased in his review? 

The athletic trainer in the commercial is Julie Frymyer. She's the one that Mahomes has credited with allowing him to play in the Super Bowl two years ago, when the Chiefs defeated the 49ers in OT for his third championship.

If you remember, Mahomes had been injured in the AFC Championship Game and appeared like he might be done for that game and a possible Super Bowl. Instead, he played through both. 

Here's what had to say after the AFC win: 

Julie WAS the reason i was the guy i was on the field today! It takes everyone but she lead the charge all week!!! Now let’s get Super Bowl ready!! https://t.co/glPKlL9Qz3

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) January 30, 2023

So what's the big deal about Julie Frymyer here?

Well, if you take a look at her resume, then you'll see where she worked before she went to Kansas City. And that would be ... 

... well, Princeton, obviously. 

Frymyer spent three years at Princeton as an athletic trainer. She and TB were fill-ins on the baseball team's trip to the 2016 NCAA regional in Lafayette, Louisiana. 

As TB has written many times before, that trip has been one of the highlights of his 30-plus years at Princeton. Lafayette turned out to be one of the best places you could ever hope to go for a college baseball regional, with huge crowds, the nicest people and great food. 

TB didn't see Frymyer much other than during that time, mostly saying "hello" to each other as they passed by on their way to here or there. He hasn't spoken to her since she left Princeton, even though she's still in his contacts as "Trainer Julie."

Still, he always remembers her as a very warm, friendly person who did her job very professionally. And she was a big part of the Tiger travel party for that great week in Lafayette. 

TB has even forgiven her for not following through on her promise to bake something for him for his birthday, which was a few weeks after the NCAA regional. In fairness, she didn't say which birthday, so maybe next year.  

He was happy for her when she moved on to the NFL and for when Mahomes began to give her so much credit for his success. Still, he was a bit stunned to see her on a TV commercial. And thrilled for her. 

He assumes that Mahomes was the driving force behind her appearance. The fact that Meaghan Trainor had the right last name to make it work might have been the starting point. 

After he saw the commercial, he texted "Trainer Julie." He wasn't sure she had the same number or even remembered him, but she got back to him quickly. 

He asked her what it was like to be in the commercial, and here is what she said: 

"It was a nerve wracking at first as it was out of my comfort zone, haha. But it was definitely a great experience and super fun. I'm very honored that they asked me to be a part of it. I'm privileged  and blessed to get to do what I love with such amazing people!"

As for the commercial, it starts with Frymyer's taping an ankle, while Trainor goes through her routine. It ends with a no-look fist bump between Frymyer and Mahomes. 

The connection between an athletic trainer and an athlete is a deep one, especially if the athlete is one who has to spend an unfortunate amount of time in the training room. That's a place where no athlete wants to be — but having full trust in the person whose job it is to get you back onto the playing field is essential. 

So is appreciating that effort. 

That's the best part of the commercial. Yes, it was great to see an old friend be included. 

It was even better to see who was doing the including — and why.