Sometimes compromise is necessary to keep a family happy and functioning. One of the areas Matt and I have compromised on is our family's involvement in sports. Before I married Matt, sports were not a significant part of my life. I would wear sweatshirts rooting for the local college team because they were warm and comfortable. I would go to the Super Bowl parties to eat the food and watch the commercials. I was not a sports fan.
Matt, however, grew up in a family of sports fans. They all played a couple of sports a piece. Their family attended most, if not all, of the local college basketball games. They know the rules of most sports and readily debate plays and officials' calls. They keep up with stats and schedules. They are fans.
So, over the last 8 years, Matt and I have settled into a pretty comfortable compromise. We, as a family, have become NFL fans. This is a compromise for me because, left on my own, I probably would have continued my life with little interest in sports. This is a compromise for Matt because his sport of choice is college basketball, not professional football. But we have found a common interest and both enjoy the NFL.
Our NFL compromise began with fantasy football. We set up a family league online that allows each member of our extended family to manage a team regardless of their physical location. This has been great for me, as my family tends to be scattered all over the world. We stay in touch on our league's discussion board and the friendly competition has given us something to talk about at Thanksgiving. It's really been a lot of fun.
One benefit I never expected is that I have become an NFL fan. I am actually watching games. I even bought a NFL magazine before our league's draft this year so I could read up on stats and schedules. I'm becoming familiar with teams' histories and players' personalities. I even watch ESPN on occasion by myself. And I like it!
This is all leading up to one big confession: I intend to waste about 16 hours this weekend watching football on TV. When I think of the magnitude of that amount of time, and the other things I could be doing, I'm a little embarrassed. But I think some leisure is OK so I've just made the decision that I'm going to be OK about it all.
Why 16 hours? Well, there are 5 teams I'm interested in: the Cincinnati Bengals (hometown team), the Green Bay Packers (Brett Favre was my fantasy quarterback and is impressive), the Indianapolis Colts (who doesn't love Peyton Manning?), the Dallas Cowboys (after living in Dallas for 5 years, Cowboys love is in my blood), and the New England Patriots (my first-born shares this team's name, and I'd love to see them make history by going undefeated). Four of the five teams are in the playoffs and are playing in different games this weekend. At about 4 hours per game, we're looking at a grand total of 16 hours.
So, if you need me this weekend, don't e-mail. I won't be on the computer. Don't call my cell. I won't be out and about. Call the house and leave a message. I'll call you back during halftime.
Matt, however, grew up in a family of sports fans. They all played a couple of sports a piece. Their family attended most, if not all, of the local college basketball games. They know the rules of most sports and readily debate plays and officials' calls. They keep up with stats and schedules. They are fans.
So, over the last 8 years, Matt and I have settled into a pretty comfortable compromise. We, as a family, have become NFL fans. This is a compromise for me because, left on my own, I probably would have continued my life with little interest in sports. This is a compromise for Matt because his sport of choice is college basketball, not professional football. But we have found a common interest and both enjoy the NFL.Our NFL compromise began with fantasy football. We set up a family league online that allows each member of our extended family to manage a team regardless of their physical location. This has been great for me, as my family tends to be scattered all over the world. We stay in touch on our league's discussion board and the friendly competition has given us something to talk about at Thanksgiving. It's really been a lot of fun.
One benefit I never expected is that I have become an NFL fan. I am actually watching games. I even bought a NFL magazine before our league's draft this year so I could read up on stats and schedules. I'm becoming familiar with teams' histories and players' personalities. I even watch ESPN on occasion by myself. And I like it!
This is all leading up to one big confession: I intend to waste about 16 hours this weekend watching football on TV. When I think of the magnitude of that amount of time, and the other things I could be doing, I'm a little embarrassed. But I think some leisure is OK so I've just made the decision that I'm going to be OK about it all.Why 16 hours? Well, there are 5 teams I'm interested in: the Cincinnati Bengals (hometown team), the Green Bay Packers (Brett Favre was my fantasy quarterback and is impressive), the Indianapolis Colts (who doesn't love Peyton Manning?), the Dallas Cowboys (after living in Dallas for 5 years, Cowboys love is in my blood), and the New England Patriots (my first-born shares this team's name, and I'd love to see them make history by going undefeated). Four of the five teams are in the playoffs and are playing in different games this weekend. At about 4 hours per game, we're looking at a grand total of 16 hours.
So, if you need me this weekend, don't e-mail. I won't be on the computer. Don't call my cell. I won't be out and about. Call the house and leave a message. I'll call you back during halftime.
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Hope you made an extra 3 hours for the UK game.
Glad you're committed. I don't know what it is about NFL football and women, but something really draws them in.
My cousin Darryl plays for Seattle, by the way. Cheer for #55.
Update: In all actuality, I only spent about 12 hours watching football this weekend, since none of the games went into overtime and I had to step away from the Colts game for a while this afternoon. Still an extreme amount of time, but I generally enjoyed it. We watched the Green Bay game at my in-laws' who have HD, so the "snow bowl" was really cool.
I do find myself in total shock about the Indy and Dallas upsets today. Guess you never know how these things are going to go. (Remind me not to draft any QB who is dating a music superstar since focus seems to be a problem.)
Go Patriots!