Football: America's Pastime. {thoughts by Rhianna - a nonSports girl}

Who was it that said baseball was "America's Pastime?"  We need to rethink that phrase.  I'm pretty sure, when polled, most of the American population would put baseball somewhere in the 3-7 slot for favorite sport - depending on age, gender, region, & time of year polled.  Right?  Baseball is pretty darn boring to watch on television, and that's how most of us have to watch sports if we don't live near a town with a team or if we don't have ridiculous amounts of disposable income to pay for tickets to a game.

Anyway... I don't want to talk about baseball.  I would like to talk about football. 

This fall has been my first football season.  John loves football.  No, I mean, LOVES.  boldCAPSenlarged.  It's probably his 3rd favorite thing on the planet just under Christmas and me, respectively.   This is new to me.  I come from a land of basketball (which - depending on age, gender, region, & time of year polled - would take the #1 slot away from football).  I grew up in a land where I learned to love one particular basketball team by osmosis, not because I really am crazy in love with sports in general.  When I was a wee one I would dress up in blue with fun hair and crazy outfits during the month of March because it was Big Blue Day at school and we watched basketball games instead of learning fractions (to this day this is what I credit with my stupidity when faced with numbers).  Our teachers couldn't miss the games, how dare they schedule them during daylight hours on a weekday?!  We get paid slightly on or below poverty level to teach and now you schedule games while we work?!!! we need our basketball!!! they cried!  And the administration heard them and lo, basketball games blasted on televisions during the month of March everywhere I looked for as long as I can remember.  As I got older it was fun to gather with friends and watch games.  But I was never the kind of fan that cared if I had to miss a game for my grandfather's birthday or to have open-heart surgery.  No, no - not I.  But because of my upbringing, I do hold a love in my heart for a certain basketball team.  You try growing up where I did and see if you can make it out alive without being a small fan - unless you're one of those people that hates everything everyone loves just on principle, then I guess ya can.

John comes from a land of football.  No one really gave a poop about our football teams except in a passive way.  Whereas in the Land of John football was king.  I imagine his growing up experience similar to mine except flipflop the sports around.  Obviously.  And John just didn't live in the land of football, he worshiped the football king, got heavily involved in politics, and got arrested for trying to overthrow the kingdom and rule himself so he could be completely absorbed in football -- in 50 years he can return to that land as a free man once again.  So moving in with John has brought about my first football season.  If you come over to our house during Football Season you will find some kind of ESPN channel always on the television during the weekend.  John has three teams that he HAS to watch every weekend or bad things will happen.  Two college teams (these happen on Fridays or Saturdays) and one Pro (these happen on Sundays... and every once in a while, a Monday) {Sidenote - pay attention to how much I KNOW about football now... I know schedules!!! look at me go!} .  Also, it's not enough to just watch the game.  When you come from a Land of Football you learn that you also have to watch all the replays on the 14 thousand different ESPN channels and listen to all the sportscasters analyze players and plays AFTER the games.  If you're lucky, your football weekend could last almost a whole week because of satelite television & internet through the PS3.  Aren't you lucky?!!!  Oh and you HAVE to either toss a football at halftime (the first & last time I did this with John I stoved one of my right fingers really badly... it swelled up for almost a month) or play a football game on your game console of choice.  Oh and remember that you have to be in costume, if an official jersey is not available a team tshirt or hoodie will suffice, please and thank you.  Many a Saturday John and I have costume changes because two of his teams are playing.  I like to go with wearing one teams tshirt under another teams hoodie that way I can just pull something off to make my quick change.  If, God forbid, that game is going badly, it is important to get out every single item of paraphenalia of the sports team in the house and wear it or place it neatly around you.  This includes but is not limited to, Pez dispensers, nightlights, toothbrushes, gloves, socks, gum, & handmade quilts - all of which we have in the house, displayed... if I didn't put my foot down on some things, our whole house would be overtaken.  Seriously.  But yes, there is a lot to learn for one from the land of basketball entering a household with someone from the land of football. 

Here are my thoughts on football after my first season.

• it's actually not that bad.  while I still enjoy watching basketball more, football is way easy to watch.
• college football is WAY better than the NFL.  maybe this is a naive assessment being a newb and all, but pro football players are sloppy and poopy and boring.  College players look so much more into it, they play with all their heart and seem to love it so much more.  NFL players probably get paid too much money to care that much about the sport and it shows.  The games are not that fun.  Give me a college game over any gross NFL game any day. 
• I don't really understand all the rules.  Other sports are much easier to figure out.  I've been watching games consistently and (mostly) actively for 2 whole months every single weekend and I still don't get the calls most times.  Although, I am improving.  John actually just gave me a good compliment the other day when I was asking why the quarterback wasn't doing something and he said I "had good eyes" and he didn't mean they were just pretty or well placed on my face, he meant I picked up on something football-y!  SCORE.
• I'm ready for basketball season to start.  no, not that pro junk... college. duh.
• we pay professional athletes way too much money.  and we let college athletes get away with way too many things.  

... that's it for my football thoughts.  I hope John reads this and writes some kind of response.  I have a feeling he'll want to.

--R

this one is for the mamaws.

thinking of getting this for Mcakes. don't tell her, k?

So, I'm a total mamaw.  I use this word a lot when describing my favorite activities (snuggling, knitting, tea drinking, eating dinner way early, sending cards to all my youngin's - usually when the time is not right because I get easily confused, and going to sleep before the sun has completely gone to bed).  I've recently discovered that not everyone in the whole wide world is familiar with this word.  Let's use our context clues to try and figure out the word's meaning!  Okay, class?  What kind of person does all those things?  If you answered "a grandmother" then you are correct!  If you don't believe me, go to this link where wikitionary kindly breaks it down for ya.  You know this is correct and I'm not making it up because the internet never lies.  Especially sites that can easily be manipulated by so many.  Growing up I heard this term all the time so it's something I never realized wasn't used everywhere.  (I get confused easily.)  But yeah, a mamaw is your grandma.  Your grandfather is your papaw.  Obviously.  ~ThE mORe YoU KnOW~

Anyway - I'm a total MBMT (mamaw before my time) and I know I'm not alone.  Housewife often compares herself to a mamaw too.  We like to have sit down family dinners, drink some hot tea, go to our bedrooms early (after heavily moisturizing our ever-aging faces), read a little, and then LIGHTS OUT by 9.  Yes.  We are mamaws.  And you know what?  It's awesome.  I'm almost always well-rested.  Who cares if I'm in my midtwenties and I'm not out til the wee hours of the morning partying all day errday?  I did that for a period of time but then the real world* kicked my ass and told me "whoa girl, you can't keep doing this, I'm going to make you pay --- PAIN FOR DAYS."  So I listened to the real world and reserved party times for special occasions.  Or at least, let's say, not every other night like it used to be.  Ha.  But I am loving my mamaw status and if you are a mamaw, you should too!  So chin up, be a proud mamaw.  If you really just want to put on a face mask, knit some blankets, eat supper at 4:30, and go to bed before sunset on any given night - do it!  It's really (not) cool.  But whatevs.

I feel like this post is obnoxious?  Let's not change it though.  Also, I feel like I should confess that I wanted to fill it up with google image searched pictures of "mamaws" but then I thought of all the real life mamaws that I love dearly and their families love them dearly so maybe they don't want their image displayed on this dumb blog (even if I properly credit the source).  That's why I just put up the picture of the shirt I'm going to buy Mcakes and me.  Even if we don't really have "greatest blessings" in the traditional sense.  Our greatest blessings can be our animals and each other.  Boom.  Roasted.


*note:  I'm not referring to the shoulda-ended-an-eff-ton-of-seasons-ago MTV reality show.  I'm talking about ACTUAL REAL LIFE ON THIS PLANET EARTH.

wknd.

It's almost the weekend.  Here are my thoughts.

• excited for the shoestring budget road-trip with mister to the land of our future.
• lookin at livin' quarters to call our own in the land of our future is going to be fun.
• seeing a lovely little band for the third time of my life will be so very fantastic that i will probably spend saturday gasping and sighing a lot and my face will be plastered with a ridiculous grin.
• linda always says "if money can fix your problems, then you don't have any problems."  i'm starting to understand the wisdom in this.  this mantra of hers is speaking to me this week when money has got me down.  trying to be positive.
• being positive is made so much easier with mister's encouraging words.
• everyone makes mistakes.  everyone has flaws.  everyone is going through trials and tribulations in their lives.  
• it gets me weak that The Justin Bieber Experience was on glee this week. 
• i'm not a fan of the biebs.  i don't hate him, i'm just indifferent.
• mister & i fight over who gets to play angry birds on my iphone.  it was started this past weekend when we went to visit my sick aunt that had that game on her ipad.  we started to play, became addicted, then my aunt got mad because mister & i surpassed her level and she took the ipad away from us.  i dl'ed it on suri cruise (my iphone), but it's not the same as on an ipad.  we still fight over who gets to play though.
• the longest bullet in my list is about some dumb game.
• modern family is probably the show that i most relate to in life. 

THE END.

(you're welcome)

{IMAGE VIA WEHEARTIT}