Football, ach!

[RosieTR]

PCooley's thread on American culture brought this into interesting focus for me today. All day my family members have been doing a group text about football games. This is between cousins who live in New England, my parents and me who live in Colorado, and my sister who lives in Seattle. Yeah, everyone but me cared. Even though they know I don't care, somehow I'm still on the text list. Here's me and DH's history of (not) caring about football: 1) planned to visit Phoenix the exact weekend in 2008 when the Superbowl was being held there. Ooops. Thankfully we had friends in Farmington NM that were happy to host us for a night til the crowd cleared out. 2) Moved to Phoenix in Oct 2008. Found out the Cardinals were the AZ team in January 2009, when the radio announced they were going to the Superbowl. In our defense, our first non-winter "winter" threw us off and we weren't even thinking about having to pay attention to football season.
As for today, I will say I was slightly hoping the Broncos would win because it'll make most of the people around here happy, and because it means the traffic on I-70 on Superbowl Sunday might be a bit lighter and we had inadvertently planned a snowshoe trip off I-70 for that day. I hope none of our friends who are coming on the trip now want to try to get home by the time the game starts....

Are you a (American) football fan? Happy with today's results? Or happy to do your errands on Superbowl Sunday in the late afternoon? :~)

[catherine]

It is now halftime during the Seattle/SF game, so that's my answer. I actually really like football--I was a Pep Leader in HS and never ever missed a game. And we go to many of my kids' alma mater games (Rutgers), and we always watch on TV if they are televised.

I don't even have any vested interest in Seattle v. San Francisco, but it's fun to watch as a family. I was kind of rooting for the Patriots because of my Yankee roots. Bummer that they lost.

We won't have plans for the Superbowl, though. I might be driving back from VT, as we are planning on paying a visit with my sons up there. Now, if the Giants had been in the Superbowl...

[fidgiegirl]

This guy came up on FB the other day, and pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter.

http://vectorbelly.com/ON177.gif

[Kestrel]

I love that cartoon! But I love Football (and Baseball)!

I'm grousing right now that my Niners (since '58) lost to Seattle (boo! hiss!) >:( :'( ... so I think I'll be rooting for the Broncos over Seattle in the SuperBowl. Also a Big Fan of the Boise State Broncos, tho we just lost our BSU coach to University of Washington, so it's a rebuilding time again after a 10-ish-year run of outstanding BSU football teams.

And Baseball's just around the corner!!!

[Blackdog Lin]

I'm a huge fan of the NFL. Spent the day lazing and watching and commenting on the play (or lack thereof). I've said for a month that it would be Seattle and Denver.

And now I'm predicting Denver for the win (though in normal times I HATE Denver). Russell Wilson vs. Peyton Manning: no contest!

[Dhiana]

Grew up a hard core Green Bay Packer fan, loved American football. When with family/friends back in the states we'll have a lot of debates regarding various plays, calls and coaching decisions. Fun times.

Then I saw a Rugby Game and have been a NZ All Blacks fan ever since. Those are some really, truly tough guys out there. No padding so you clearly see all those really hot muscles at work =) Not so much into American Football anymore.

[Gregg]

Once, during the NFL playoffs when I was supposed to be completely engaged, I had a TON of work to get done. BIL and the boys invited me to watch "the game" with them and I coarsely stated that I didn't have time to watch TV. Another time I stated that I couldn't care less if pro athletes did steroids or not because they're entertainers. Aka, if a singer could take a pill and sing better I would still listen. I further stated that these guys are adults and if they decide to abuse their bodies with chemicals (not unlike Gregg age 20-26) its their choice. I'm not banned from watching football with the boys, but they do just fine if I'm late to the party. That said...Go Broncos!!!

[JaneV2.0]

To show solidarity with my SO, I watched about ten minutes of the Seattle game. When fireworks started going off down the street and my phone started ringing off the hook, I tuned in to see blue and green confetti raining down on the field. So I guess I participated...

[IshbelRobertson]

Football, to much of the world means the game called soccer !Splat!

[redfox]

I'm glad Seattle won, because otherwise the city would be full of cranky people tomorrow. Otherwise, not my thing.

[lhamo]

I used to love the Seahawks back in the good old Zorn/Largent days. Haven't really followed the team since, but pleased they will be going to the Superbowl as a matter of local pride.

[SteveinMN]

I watched most of both games. It's a spectacle. The Superb Owl even more so. Both games were pretty exciting.

But I'd much rather watch hockey. Great Bruins/Hawks game on before the football!

[Rogar]

I'm not a football fan but have found that to resist is futile. Back in my working days I used to watch or listen to the local news to get a short recap of the weekend latest football scores so I could pretend to know what went on. Now, baseball is another story. I have always thought George Carlin's monologue comparing baseball and football to be quite funny and even a little true. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmXacL0Uny0

[ApatheticNoMore]

I was vaguely aware there was some big football game this weekend but I couldn't have told you what day or what time or what. I did happen to be doing errands (grocery shopping) late Sunday afternoon, the only t.v. I overheard mentioned while shoppig was Sherlock and Downton Abbey. :|(

Really watching sports bores me, but football bores most men I know - they're either baseball guys or hockey guys (and basketball would be somewhere in the middle, with football scoring least interest - as in yea if there's nothing better).

[Florence]

DH and I are both totally clueless about sports, all sports. Just does not compute. I know there is a thing called brackets of basketball, a series of baseball, and bowls of football but the who, when, and where are not on our radar.
Part of it is probably my dislike of crowds and crowds yelling would have me looking for the closest exit

[Kestrel]

I know and understand and love spectator sports, especially football and baseball. Not particularly interested in watching the pros in person -- I need the TV or radio announcers telling me what happened, which I'd miss live, and I enjoy the re-plays. Enjoy supporting high school and college teams, especially if we know some of the players.

I'm a SF 49ers fan (since '58) and was not happy with the game on Sunday. Wait till next year!!
SF Giants fan as well (since '59) and can't wait for spring training to start!

[ToomuchStuff]

My view that watching football, to me is as entertaining as watching a loved one be raped, has not been popular. It caused one coworker to quit, years ago, when I was asked to take some stuff to our stadium (where I went from the locker rooms to the owners residence), as well as other issues. I get tired of the being assaulted by people grabbing my arm and asking if I saw that, or what did they miss walking from the car into our place.
The thing that has really ticked off a few people is knowing all the athletes I have and still know. Some of whom are friends (was brought back a piece of the Berlin wall by them when it came down). It is one thing to me to hear it from someone who was on the field and unwinding, (I can handle that and did lose a Christmas tree to a few of them redoing a play) as compared to all the side line fan's who think they know better and want you to know it. (after every game)


But i am that way about sports in general. (about got beat up, because I thought a Royal was a beer vendor and asked how he was doing (tips/beer sales) since they were playing poorly) I would much rather play them, (been tackled in touch football, lost my glasses to that) then live vicariously through watching them. I would still prefer to build something, first though.

[Miss Cellane]

Growing up with five sports-mad brothers, I know a lot about baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer and lacrosse. Lucky me. We had limits on how much television we could watch, and my choice of shows was always out-voted for some sports thing. Sunday dinner would be delayed until half-time, as we weren't allowed to watch tv while eating, but my parents got tired of dragging the boys away from the tv set for meals.

So I can talk the talk about sports. And the family emails that go around keep me clued in as to what big game is coming up.

But in my perfect world, I'd never have to hear about them again. Ever.

I got in trouble once in grad school. I was a Teaching Fellow and taught Freshman English classes. One student who was on the basketball team never brought in written notice of what classes he would have to miss for the various games. I should mention that this team routinely went to the Final Four, and basketball was a huge deal at this university.

Well, at mid-term, when I had to turn in grades for all the athletes in my classes, this guy had a D-, because of the number of unexcused absences. I turned in the grades and almost immediately got a phone call from the Office for Scholar Athletes, demanding to know why *I* was failing the star freshman on the team. I explained about the lack of written notices (which, by the way, I knew that their counselors were supposed to provide on request). What!?! exclaimed his counselor. Wasn't I following the team? Didn't I check the schedule in the school paper?

Nope, I replied.

I got called into my supervisor's office the next day, and the department director's office the day after that, because the counselor called them and made a big fuss.

I just kept explaining that because I was always given the early morning classes, I always had a lot of athletes--that semester I had a total of 44 students and 15 of them were on sports teams. No way was I going to track the schedules for all of them. Fortunately, my superiors in my department agreed, and the young man was forced to bring in the written notices from then on.

But seriously? How to make a mountain out of a molehill.

[Spartana]

Don't like to watch football - or really any spectator sport except maybe hockey. Flyers fan from way back! Although I do like a good Super Bowl party!