I married well. My husband is an excellent cook, is not a drunk, brings home the bacon when no one else can find any, does not mention hardly ever mentions my weight, plays the piano and the flute, is an intellectual and does not mind I ain’t, and does not watch televised sports. Never has. Nor have my sons. Ever. Until today. Today, literally out of the blue, both boys are down there watching The Game. They were enjoying it so much and so loudly, Hal has joined them and is now explaining all the rules.
What happened? And how do guys know all the rules in such detail after at least 18 years not watching a single game in action? I know it’s been 18 years because tomorrow is our 18th anniversary. Hope it’s not our last.
I am from KY. The men in my family and in every family I ever knew never missed A Game: Football, Golf, Basketball, Baseball, the Derby, the Belmont, the Whatever That Third Race is. The entire year was spent building up to or coming down from a Bowl, a Series, a Masters or a Final Four.
As a little girl, we spent Game Days (basically every Sunday) at Billie and Jack’s house. They were mom and dad’s best friends. Billie and Jack cooked a huge breakfast, the adults drank Bloody Mary’s and smoked cigarettes.
The kids – me, my three siblings and Leigh, Billie and Jack’s little girl – played. I don’t remember what we played but we didn’t have a single electronic game. Just dolls and dirt. By late afternoon, we were exhausted and the ‘rents were sloshed.
In high school, with two popular brothers, Game Day was at our house. It was always so frickin’ loud. Guys shouting, the smell of hamburgers, beer and pot. Pot couldn’t calm down a guy on Game Day. They’d smoke a joint, then jump up and down on the sofa, shouting… ok, they didn’t shout during golf. Everything else was loud. I just didn’t get it.
just wonder. You think how wonderful it would be to go to their school.
You wish you could trade places for a day, just so you could experience
that feeling.” – UCLA player Kris Johnson
When Hal and I first started dating, I expected that, even though he rarely watched TV, he would of course be watching Big Games. I had an involuntary moment of silence when I discovered he couldn’t care less. I think I asked him who was playing in the Super Bowl and he didn’t know. Did not know. I had never met a man who didn’t know who was playing in the Super Bowl. Ever. I’m pretty sure it’s what cinched the deal.
Now, 18 years later, all three boys are down there whooping it up. I’m going to thank my lucky stars for all these years of freedom from televised sports. As long as I don’t have to smell hamburgers, beer and pot, I can live with it.
For what it’s worth, I didn’t even know the Super Bowl was on until a couple of days ago. Found out who was playing maybe yesterday. Watched a bit of it (basically under duress): my father’s a football fan and is in the hospital lately, so I watched some while visiting with him today. Later on tonight I was waiting in the lounge of my parents’ retirement home reading the newspaper when a very old lady in a wheelchair encouraged me to come over to the TV in the next room to watch the final minutes–people were shouting. I said “Nah, I can read about it in the newspapers tomorrow [unspoken thought: if I give a rat’s patoot, which is unlikely].”
…Chuck
This makes you guy numero dos. Hope your dad feels better.
Wow …I feel better after reading this.The whole sports on tv thing has always been a mystery to me. I really thought I was the only guy that did not pay attention or care about who won what and played who. I am glad I didn’t waste money on therapy.
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You seem perfectly sane to me!!!
I absolutely have NO interest in televised sports. Never have, never will. What’s more, I have a hard time understanding how anyone could spend so much energy and focus on such a boring activity. Watching grown men sit on a sofa guzzling Buds and shouting at the TV is hilarious.
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It’s totally puzzling… I’ve decided I don’t want to dive into the psychosis of it… too scary!
My husband is also generally free from the craze. But I have to admit that just around this time, every year, I have this tiny little fear that he will somehow catch the bug and join the lemmings. So far we’ve been OK, but now you’re making me nervous. I may have to keep my husband away from your boys/man until I know they are not contagious!
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Gee, I hope I don’t catch it!!!!
That’s kinda funny. I used to be watch games all the time and be way too emotionally invested, but I slowly let go over the years. That might have something to do with the stupid money these men in tights make. Or the ridiculous vicariousness with which people follow them (people would be better off doing something personally fulfilling than arguing about substitutions, formations, playcalling week after week after week).
However, I compulsively read sports news to waste time, so I’m still relatively in the loop. I’m pretty sure my ability to hoot & holler at a game is still intact, and I’ve consciously done it a couple of times to egg other people on :-P.
I can see a day when I want to watch basketball again – there’s a kid in Spain named Ricky Rubio who is nothing short of amazing. When he comes to the NBA – especially to the Knicks – I will likely be glued to the tv every time he plays.
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Don’t tell Trish.
The oddest thing: you start talking about this amazing Rubio… and I have a strange yearning to see him on TV. Um, tell me when he’s on.
Why is this particular bowl super anyway?
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Who knows??? I think they started out just wanting to watch the commercials which was even more puzzling… then got hooked on the game.
I got into football when my youngest cheered in HighSchool. We usually watch the SBowl for the ads tho’ (that was our excuse anyway!) and actually, usually ended up enjoying the game as well. Our local team, the KC Chiefs, only won 2 games this season (yes, head coach is bye bye) so not much to watch there… even if we did have TV service. Which we don’t. However, my fil taped yesterday’s game for us and we do look forward to watching it. It’s not a high-energy party tho’… we just watch. And eat popcorn. And I wanted to see Bruce do the half-time show. Now I just hope that my fil didn’t use the oldest vhs tape they have… he also tapes Lost for dh and those tapes whistle and hum like the devil. Ahhhh the old school vhs.
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Yeah, I’m going to have to find a tape of Bruce at half-time. He’s cool. We have a vhs player, actually played a tape on it the other day!
Me thinks the boys see how devoted this country is to their beloved “futbol”, the whole country comes to a halt for “the big game”. I saw it once happen in Jaco. I didn’t know there was a big soccer game against Mexico. I drove into town and it was a ghost town. Not a person on the streets and businesses shut down. I thought I had missed the evacuation. Then I heard whoops and hollers, CR style and “Go-oooooooooooal” or whatever that boardcaster bellows. I knew immediately, it was Costa Rica’s ‘Super Bowl’ day. They lost and you could cut the air with a knife afterwards. They hate losing to Mexico.
To my point of this ramble, I think the revelry the boys displayed is just their way of supporting “their team” (patriotic),
or maybe not.
Sounds like all are happy and together.
I know you feel blessed. -t
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Yeah, I guess I’ll keep ’em even if they are guys. Blessed indeed!
Another ‘not-interested in football-sports’ person here. Always wondered what positive things for the world could be accomplished with all that redirected intellect (or whatever it passes for).
But I did have a vested-interest in it since I live in Tampa where it was held this time -making four times that it has been held in our fair city in the last 25 years. Mind you I did not memorize that little bit of trivia; I heard it on the news here, in passing.
It’s annoying to have to either hole up for the weekend or to ‘drive all the way around your elbow to get to your thumb’ -so to speak- if you want to go anywhere in Tampa on that day which takes you anywhere within six miles of the stadium!
Cheers anyway!
Paul M.
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Tailgates parties everywhere!!! I never understood that in KY in the freezing cold, people would have tailgate parties. With bbq grills, coolers, lawn chairs… sometimes people got too drunk to even get to the game. I guess that passes for fun!