I knew this day was coming. I've been hearing about it for months. I believe Pat started his countdown for football season in June. Actually, who am I kidding. Pat started his football countdown the day after the super bowl. Despite his constant reminders and countdowns, however, football season sneaks up on me each and every year. With the blink of an eye, summer is over and Pat is preparing for his fantasy football draft event. Speaking of the fantasy football event, that is where Pat is at this very moment. Pat is what I would like to call somewhat of a bedtime drill sergeant. He likes to be in bed by 10 and asleep by 10:30 on work nights. No exceptions. UNLESS... something important comes up, like tonight for example. His fantasy football draft event started at 6:45 PM. It is currently 10:53 PM and he is still not home. This is how it all starts...But let's be honest here. I knew what I was getting myself into. Pat and I started dating in the fall. Our first conversation revolved around BGSU's homecoming FOOTBALL game. Our first "dates" involved me coming over to his house and watching football. His knowledge of the game and all of the athletes playing in it were quite impressive. It didn't even occur to me to view this knowledge as scary. And then it happened. Something that has never happened before in all of the years I've been playing the game Balderdash.
It was the first Christmas we were dating. Pat came to my dad's house to meet the family for the first time and we embarked on the yearly ritual of ending the night with a game of Balderdash. The category was a date. Just a random date. Each of us had to anonymously write an answer for what this mystery date could be, hoping that it would sound believable enough that others would vote for it. After the answers were submitted and the "dasher" was about to read all of the answers (fake and real) they realized that there were two answers that were exactly the same. One was the real incident that happened on that date, the other was someone who was playing the game and actually knew the correct answer. Again, this never happens! The person was Pat and the date had something to do with the very first Super Bowl. At that moment, I started to understand the magnitude of the situation.
A picture of Pat at this time last year, preparing for his fantasy football draft.For many dates after that point, well actually, every date since that point, many of our every day decisions have been based around football. For example, where we go out to eat (do they have TV's?), where we are going to sit at the restaurant (will I be able to see the TV?) once we have determined that they do in fact have TV's. Before we were actually engaged and I mentioned the idea of having a fall wedding, Pat immediately cautioned me about the difficulty we would have in selecting a date, you know, with Ohio State football taking place on Saturdays.
Now before I sound like some anti-football feminist, I want you to know that I, too, enjoy watching football. Ever since someone actually explained the game to me my freshman year in high school, I have enjoyed watching the sport...in moderation. I have always enjoyed watching THE Ohio State Buckeyes. But that was about it. Once I started dating Pat and realized he bled orange and brown, I came to terms with the fact that I would probably never miss a Browns game in my life. And I'm okay with that. How do the lyrics to that song go? "I'd rather live with him in his world, than live without him in mine." Well it's true. I enjoy watching the Browns with him. But that's where it ends for me. After I watch the Buckeyes and the Browns, I'm cashed out with football for the week. But not Pat. He has a desire to watch each and every college and NFL football game.
And it's not just the TV that he takes hostage for the season. It's the computer too. After the games are over in the evening, he needs to check his fantasy ranking and before the games even start, he needs to set his roster. I'm glad he has passion and I'm glad he has hobbies. I am just really going to miss his company over the next five or so months.
I decided to google the term "Football Widow," just for fun (and to find a picture to go with this post) and you wouldn't believe all of the stuff I found! Wikipedia had this to say about Football Widows:
A football widow is a term for those who have a relationship with a sports fan (often a follower of football) who pays more attention to the game than to their partner during the sport's season of play. Football widows are usually, but not always, women. Usually the "widow" has little interest in the sport themselves.
Although it is widely tolerated and not considered a serious disruption by many, dedication to following the sport (such as watching game broadcasts on television) can disrupt home life and the relationship between the couple in question.
There are support groups and they even sell T-shirts!I'm not going to say my formal goodbyes to him yet, as the season hasn't officially started. However, September 2nd (OSU's first game) and September 12 (the Browns' first game) will be here before I know it. In the meantime, I'm going to cherish the time I have left with TV, my computer and of course, my husband.
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