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I don't know about you, but just about all of my Sundays since September have been filled with football. I have a husband and a son who are fairly smitten with watching overgrown boys run around a field in any type of weather throwing and chasing a ball, and then falling upon one another to retrieve what seems to be as valuable as the Hope diamond, ignoring that they are potentially crushing someone else's--or their own--skull.
It is commonplace on these long weekend afternoons for my two boys to sit on our family room couch, snacking on thick, extra dark pretzels (paying no attention to the crumbs and salt bits that fall in between the couch cushions), tossing a football and tackling one another or our dog during commercials--and drinking. If my twelve-year-old is feeling really hyped up for the event, he'll ask if he can have a soda--usually saved only for special occasions in our house--while my husband opts for a cold Saranac Black & Tan, his beer of choice on these special game days.
When game time begins and all players--and viewers--prepare for the coin toss (or on some days the pre-game show needs to be screened first), that's my clue to take to the living room. I'll usually curl up on the couch, with either a cup of tea or a glass of wine close by--book, newspaper, and laptop at the ready for at least four hours of quiet time (save for the occasional shrieks coming from the next room).
Once in a while, my husband will gently request ("quick! come fast! hurry up!") that I come and join them to watch a replay of some player running 40 or 50 yards down the field and then doing some kind of tribal dance in the end zone (that's actually my favorite part). I oblige for the sake of my son--wouldn't want him to think that his mom isn't a woman with varied interests.
And then, I retreat to my corner in the next room. Happy. My husband chugs his beer and my son his soda, and both scream at the TV. I sip my wine (or tea), cozily engaging in my reading and/or writing. So, in truth, it turns out that football days are not so bad. This coming Sunday is the almighty Super Bowl. There will probably be a lot of noise coming from our house as of 6:30 pm EST when the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers take to the field (full disclosure: I had to ask a friend who was playing). I may hide out at a neighbor's house. Or maybe, just maybe, I'll put down my book, opt for a beer, and relocate to sit with the boys, pretending that I actually care.
