I was born in Buffalo, and raised by Bills fans from my birth. If I remember correctly, my mom even rode on the back of a very small motorcycle, while pregnant with me, to see a game - it was a looong ride, on a narrow seat, she said!!
Every Sunday found us all in front of the TV, and there was a whole lot of yelling and screaming going on..."GO!!!", "Run, run, run!!", "Can you believe that Reff?!?" I was never particularly into the game, after all, there was instant replay to catch any play that was worth seeing. And there was OJ - back in the good ol' days, when he was a rockin' football player and had a great tv ad that showed him jumping people, chairs and suitcases as he ran through the airport.
After we moved to Atlanta, my parents had to, out of necessity, become Falcons fans...these were pre-cable days, and you could only see the games broadcast for your area. And every Sunday, after church and lunch, you would find my whole family in our living room, around the TV. I usually claimed a corner of the black vinyl, Spanish style sofa (read: black plastic and lots of wood), while my Dad would get the other end, and my mom the loveseat. The boys always claimed the floor, and my little sister, my dad's lap. I always, (always!) had a book and when the weather finally cooled off, would wrap myself in the softest blanket I could find, and zone out in my book, crinkling the plastic library wrap on the book, and listening with one ear to my family watching the game.
And that was football, til I left home to get married. And who did I marry - another football fan! This one, my darling, loves Virginia Tech, and once we moved to Denver, we became Broncos fans too. Once again, every Sunday (and later Monday's - and now...well, whatever day of the week they play - I can't keep it straight anymore!) finds us tuning into The Game. I was even downtown for the parade after the Superbowl one year! How exciting that was!!
Now, I am responsible for "Snacks", and so, instead of getting to read for the whole game, I often find myself in the kitchen, watching the game from across the room, or curled up with the kids, muting (or turning off) commercials that are no longer quite so family friendly.
And there is still a lot of yelling...I finally figured out that it is an acceptable way to really "get loud", and so we do - much to the enjoyment of our kids! Jalapeno decided when he was two, that he wanted to be a football team, when he grows up. Not a football player, but the whole team! A friend said that maybe he will hit so hard, the guy he takes out will say "Man, I feel like I got hit by the whole team!" , and so, his nickname will be Team. We'll see...right now, he won't even defend himself against Pineapple, when he is sitting on his chest and laughing!
So today, as the new season opens, who knows what will happen for our team...and I don't really care. For me, football is a time to gather together, to eat favorite foods, to yell, and laugh, and spend the afternoon together! And to create memories for MY kids, of the days when they used to watch football, with their yelling, screaming, crazy parents!
Hope "your team' does well this season, and that you will make lots of good memories with your family!
2 comments:
Oh man! I haven't thought of that sofa in a long time! I have, however, retold the story over and over of the time I burned a hole in that "beautiful" red carpet. Ahhh! Those were the days. Funny, I don't remember being in Dad's lap and my knowledge of footbll rules, or lack thereof, proves I really wasn't absorbing much of the game. I remember reading too. Yours must be an earlier memory. You trained me well...Hang out with a book so I wouldn't miss out on the family time, even in I wasn't particularly interested in the game. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
Oh, I totally forgot about the red carpet!! I was thinking of the flocked wall paper, but not the carpet! Thanks for reminding me! And yes, you did sit in Daddy's lap - I was jealous, so I remember!
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