i feel like "the eye of the tiger" should be playing in the background. or "chariots of fire". maybe "we are the champions"... okay, i'll stop :)
tonight is the night. the first football game of the season. i know, this is waaaay off from my normal subject matter and i promise i won't start posting only about football. that would be lame. but tonight's the big night. i guess it's sort of the moment of truth for the undefeated coach of the year. does he still have what it takes? can they go 15-0 and keep the streak alive? haha, i'm kidding. but he wouldn't be if he were reading this [which he doesn't].
in all seriousness, let me tell you why i love high school football season and actually get excited to drive to the games and watch teenage boys that i don't really know, tackle each other and run around on a field. because i know many wives that would be excited for a night off to themselves, and wouldn't dream of packing up the kid[s] and heading out to the game, sometimes freezing cold, sometimes getting home at 11pm, dealing with the parking and the craziness of it all... here's why i love it:
1. it is his passion. he eats sleeps and breathes football, and ever since i've known him, he always has. for me to know and love my husband, is to know and love football as much as it is humanly possible for me.
2. it is nostalgia. remember how we've dated since my sophomore year of high school [his freshman year]? well, that first year he played on the JV team and broke his shoulder in the first few weeks of the season. we watched a lot of football from the stands that year, but then the next year they brought him up to start as the varsity quarterback. i know, everyone's dream in high school, right? just imagine how cool i felt. he was my boyfriend! so i went to every game, and actually watched, instead of gossiping and flirting in the bleachers like all my friends. i've was secretly anti-social anyway, so it wasn't hard. he would sit me down on sunday afternoons while he was recovering from last night's game, and have me watch game film with him. he'd teach me the plays and the technical terms and i would learn a lot of things i would eventually forget. every fall football would roll around and you could just smell the anticipation in the air. something was different about football season, and for us, it hasn't changed. football is definitely one of the reasons why fall is my all-time favorite time of the year.
3. this is his dream job. since graduating high school, he has coached high school football every season [except for the very first one after graduating]. like i said, he has always eaten, slept, and breathed football, and for him to be handed this head coaching job at the age of 24 and it is his real job? i couldn't ask for anything more amazing. don't we all want our husbands to do something, for a living, that they've been passionate about their whole lives [i'm not kidding, his mom tells me that at the age of 4, he would watch ESPN instead of cartoons.] he could [then and now] tell you the scores of every sport and every game that was played this week, all the stats, everything. he has always loved sports. so, i guess if you had to choose perfect job for him? athletic director and football coach. and that's exactly what he does every single day. dreams change and evolve, and maybe one day he'll want something different, and i'll support him in that too. but isn't it just the best feeling that your husband gets to do what he loves? it makes all the difference.
4. the games are just plain fun! sure, they won every game last season and that's fun in itself. but even if they aren't winning, let me just paint a picture for you: his entire family goes. and i mean, his aunts and uncles, his grandparents, parents, brothers & sisters-in-law, cousins [2 of his cousins actually coach with him], nieces, nephews, my parents, and usually about 5-10 other family friends that want to tag along. can you imagine how much reese loves getting to see everyone, every weekend? she is distracted and well cared for by grandparents or great-grandparents, or cousins, which means i get to watch the game! the snack bar boasts a "taco-guy" who grills fresh carne or pollo right there in front of you, and then hands you 2 or 3 [or 6] authentic tacos. the guy is from mexico. this is not your imitation taco from taco bell. we have our fill [only $1.50 per taco, can't beat that], chat and watch the game, and then we sneak down on the field afterward to see daddy and run around. i look forward to the game all week long, if you can believe that. some of reese's first words were "touch-down", "football", "go knights"... oh, and she calls her daddy "coach", too. it's just a part of our lives. sort of hilarious that "coach" will have two daughters isn't it?
** and since i forgot to post this before we left for the game, i can tell you that we won tonight! 15-0!
in all seriousness, let me tell you why i love high school football season and actually get excited to drive to the games and watch teenage boys that i don't really know, tackle each other and run around on a field. because i know many wives that would be excited for a night off to themselves, and wouldn't dream of packing up the kid[s] and heading out to the game, sometimes freezing cold, sometimes getting home at 11pm, dealing with the parking and the craziness of it all... here's why i love it:
1. it is his passion. he eats sleeps and breathes football, and ever since i've known him, he always has. for me to know and love my husband, is to know and love football as much as it is humanly possible for me.
2. it is nostalgia. remember how we've dated since my sophomore year of high school [his freshman year]? well, that first year he played on the JV team and broke his shoulder in the first few weeks of the season. we watched a lot of football from the stands that year, but then the next year they brought him up to start as the varsity quarterback. i know, everyone's dream in high school, right? just imagine how cool i felt. he was my boyfriend! so i went to every game, and actually watched, instead of gossiping and flirting in the bleachers like all my friends. i've was secretly anti-social anyway, so it wasn't hard. he would sit me down on sunday afternoons while he was recovering from last night's game, and have me watch game film with him. he'd teach me the plays and the technical terms and i would learn a lot of things i would eventually forget. every fall football would roll around and you could just smell the anticipation in the air. something was different about football season, and for us, it hasn't changed. football is definitely one of the reasons why fall is my all-time favorite time of the year.
3. this is his dream job. since graduating high school, he has coached high school football every season [except for the very first one after graduating]. like i said, he has always eaten, slept, and breathed football, and for him to be handed this head coaching job at the age of 24 and it is his real job? i couldn't ask for anything more amazing. don't we all want our husbands to do something, for a living, that they've been passionate about their whole lives [i'm not kidding, his mom tells me that at the age of 4, he would watch ESPN instead of cartoons.] he could [then and now] tell you the scores of every sport and every game that was played this week, all the stats, everything. he has always loved sports. so, i guess if you had to choose perfect job for him? athletic director and football coach. and that's exactly what he does every single day. dreams change and evolve, and maybe one day he'll want something different, and i'll support him in that too. but isn't it just the best feeling that your husband gets to do what he loves? it makes all the difference.
4. the games are just plain fun! sure, they won every game last season and that's fun in itself. but even if they aren't winning, let me just paint a picture for you: his entire family goes. and i mean, his aunts and uncles, his grandparents, parents, brothers & sisters-in-law, cousins [2 of his cousins actually coach with him], nieces, nephews, my parents, and usually about 5-10 other family friends that want to tag along. can you imagine how much reese loves getting to see everyone, every weekend? she is distracted and well cared for by grandparents or great-grandparents, or cousins, which means i get to watch the game! the snack bar boasts a "taco-guy" who grills fresh carne or pollo right there in front of you, and then hands you 2 or 3 [or 6] authentic tacos. the guy is from mexico. this is not your imitation taco from taco bell. we have our fill [only $1.50 per taco, can't beat that], chat and watch the game, and then we sneak down on the field afterward to see daddy and run around. i look forward to the game all week long, if you can believe that. some of reese's first words were "touch-down", "football", "go knights"... oh, and she calls her daddy "coach", too. it's just a part of our lives. sort of hilarious that "coach" will have two daughters isn't it?
** and since i forgot to post this before we left for the game, i can tell you that we won tonight! 15-0!
Woop Woop...congrats on the win! Funny, hubby and I met in high school too and he was also quite the (sought after, much to my chagrin at times) football player.
ReplyDeleteIve never been a sports junkie by any means but I do enjoy football.
Funny, your description made me think of Tammy Taylor(FNL, anyone?):)
holla!! i love football-especially high school and college-not so much nfl. love games! nothing like a cool night on the bleachers, ruining your voice as you cheer at the top of your lungs! xoxo
ReplyDeleteYay! Tell him I said congrats and that I wish this cousin lived close enough to see some of his games. I'm always so proud to be his cousin, not just because of his record, but because of his character, too:)
ReplyDeleteOk that was me, Amberly. I don't know why it says unknown?
ReplyDeleteI love high school football too! Especially now that I have a child that attends the high school... I know several of the kids playing. And I get the love of the game because of your husband's passion. My husband coaches soccer and I LOVE watching him do it! Soccer season is exciting in our home (and busy). But, unlike Ms. Hannah... we are big time NFL fans. I think I gain 20 lbs every winter from our Sunday football snacks!!!
ReplyDelete