My Town Mondays: football widow

Monday is football night in our home, my only part of town where I spend Monday nights.

The refrigerator magnet says it all =>
"If a man watches two football games in a row he should be declared legally dead."

It is a regular ritual at our house.
Mondays we stick close to home.

In the warm fall days Brian, my husband, would take his little TV and sit outdoors when we lived in the city.



These days it is a bit too cold for being outside . He gets himself set up where ever is most comfortable. If his team is playing, he'll wear the shirt. We put on a fire and sit, warm and cosy. he is not a yeller, a quiet man, I can read in the adjoining room if I choose!

We often make a crock pot of chili, or another TV dinner on football Mondays. I usually watch for awhile, at least eating dinner with him. He is happy to wax eloquently about the whole thing.

As a retiree is is a terrific hobby. He is out of his do or die football pool. Two missed team wins guesses, and you're out. He keeps stats on ledger paper (an accountant) - it is his thing, what can I say? Keeps him off the streets. It keeps him out of the bars, too, as he is a secret non-drinker. Long story, gotta read my book to find out about that!

It is easy to keep him company with the laptop: they always repeat the great plays! I like sitting in the TV room, trying to play string with the cats who get bored easily.

Eventually, we have to turn the sound off. It irks the way that a terrific play goes on, but the announcers spend so much time name dropping, or highlighting an historic career, that they miss key plays. My Ottawa son (age 23) is an American football fan, too. We sent him a 'lucky' team shirt for Xmas one year. We sit and e-mail is a parallel play sort of universe. When the kid's team makes a great play I cheer for him, when they don't I send comforting words. Sometimes we do on-line chats.

My kids have used Brian's football interest as a theme for gifts. I love the figurines.

I have learned a lot about American geography by watching and keeping my hubby company. We look up the weather and celebrate the fact that somewhere on our continent people can often wear shorts! We hate the fooforah...the big dudes seem to like to brag more than they do colour commentary. Sometimes if the games are tedious they do run on and on.

Gladwell has waxed eloquently in his blog, and accepted comments, about choosing teachers vs. quarterbacks. I am not sure I really 'get' him, I'd rather sit with a magazine than read pages online, but his original New Yorker piece says more that I like. A good teacher and a good quarterback have to coordinate the plays, but ultimately, it's up to the team!

Those are my Monday (and Sunday, and some Saturdays, and Thursdays, and any American holiday: see those college boys run with those nice tight ummm.... ends!). Bless them for the cheap entertainment! We don't do the parades, maybe our short attention span. That is a sign of dementia. (You can read about that, too!)