I was raised by a dad who's more farmer than football. He would never spend a perfectly good Sunday afternoon watching sports. Find him in the garden, in the basement, fixing something, or on a boat. But never watching sports. Never.
As a result, it's not a surprise that I don't possess a great affinity for team sports.
No that I'm anti-sports. I like basketball, and follow the Knicks on and off. I like hockey, it's quite an exciting game to watch. And I like baseball best of all--the nostalgia, the Americana, the hot dogs. But I have no love for football. No. Love. I find it tedious and boring, and I just don't get the crazy fan-dom that surrounds the NFL. Sundays are religion. The stadium is the church. I bleed blue! Just ask my ex-boyfriend.
But, since the entire nation was watching football tonight, I decided it was a perfect time to stop judging football fans and actually learn about the game. It's easy to dislike something one knows nothing about. Surely I could muster up some appreciation for the most popular sport in America. And I was invited to a small Superbowl party by my friend Beth. So I spent 90 minutes on the internet actually learning about the game of football. Ohhhh, that's what a down is? Finally, I knew what the announcers meant when they say "3rd and 6". Ohhhh, they're not just saying random numbers! I learned about down and distance, scoring, team structure, and other basics.
In the past, I have watched the Superbowl with my dad, if I watch it at all. But let's face it, we're both only watching it for the commercials. He usually feigns attention while I surf the internet or read. I look up only to see these most-anticipated commercials of the year, and our only dialogue occurs about whether we like them or not. We usually like the halftime show, too. And we nosh. That's our Superbowl. But this year I was going to go to a real, live Superbowl party, my first-ever!
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| Madeleine the Mascot |
I picked up a case of Modelo Especial and headed over to watch some Steel vs. Cheese. It was the perfect Brooklyn Superbowl party: Eight ladies, two hipsters, a gay guy, and a French bulldog named Madeleine. At the core of this unlikely crew was our hostess, a native Pittsburger. She was adorably hopeful for her hometown, full of contagious enthusiasm. When the Steelers scored, or did other good football-y things, she politely said "Excuse me" and then whirled her Terrible Towel above her head while shouting "Woooooooooooooo!!!" I sat next to her, and truly paid attention to a football game for the first time in my life. It was hard to differentiate with all of those yellow thunder thighs on the field. It was an exciting game, as sports games go, thanks to the almost-comeback by the Steelers that almost resulted in the largest comeback in Superbowl history. But, as my dad always says: Almost only counts in horsehoes and hand grenades.
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| Sad Steeler |
Results: Steelers lost to the Packers, vindicating the good luck charm selection off all those idiots wearing rubber cheese wedges on their heads. I definitely enjoyed football much more with a basic understanding of what the heck is going on with all those lines and numbers. But I'm sorry to say, I still think football is bo-ring. My favorite parts were the commercials, the train-wreck of a Halftime show, and the Very Special Glee episode. But I do I think that next year when my current roomie wants to put the Jets game on, I won't groan quite as much.
Status: Success!
