Well, it’s that time of year again. The time of M-E-N.
The time where boys celebrate their manliness by screaming themselves hoarse, throwing back countless beers and freezing their cojones off .
In case you’re not following along…. I’ll be more clear:
It’s FOOTBALL SEASON.
This is also the time where a tiny little flying pigskin becomes ever-so-important and the desire to watch overdeveloped grown men bash into each other, supersedes all other things.
As you can probably assume…. This is a special time for hubby & me! (and, just in case you are not good at reading sarcasm….. go back & re-read that last sentence and when you say “special” make sure it’s just oozing w/ sarcasm)
As hubby so kindly likes to remind me, in full detail….football lasts for only 17 weeks (regular season) AND 4 weeks (pre season) AND 3 weeks (play offs). And, I should be “thrilled that he only really follows football, and that he’s not like other men who change sporting interests with each season”. Yes dear hubby, I really am thrilled about that. Since your focus is so consumed by games, I might as well hang a sign on our door telling people that you’ve gone away for the winter and no chores will be completed.
Yes… I am THRILLED!
I should also mention that hubby doesn’t just watch the games from the comfort of his man cave. He also own season tickets for the Giants. And just for the record, we’ve had to sell my right kidney, a chunk of his liver and our first 3 unborn children to afford the license & tickets at the new stadium… but it was sooooooo worth it (yes, that’s sarcasm again……).
Anyhow, as you may have guessed…. nothing happens in our house on a day where there’s a home game. Arguably, nothing even gets done in our house the day before a home game, as hubby needs time to “prep” for a game.
Prepping includes the following things:
- Getting tailgating items together
- Grocery shopping for tailgating food (interesting that this is one of the few times hubby sets foot in the grocery store…..)
- A trip to the liquor store
- And, perhaps the most important ritual… an evening of playing a “practice” game of Madden Football in his man cave – to clinch the win for his Boys in Blue.
So, by my calculations, that’s 24 weeks where hubby is unavailable due to a game. 10 of which suck up 2 full days… if you include his “prep”time.
And I’ll admit, it takes me quite a few weeks to remember that I’m on my own for the next 5-6 months.
Just this past week, some friends asked us to join them for dinner on Saturday night…. And, I quickly checked my calendar and accepted their invitation (hubby is almost never involved in coordinating our social calendar due to his inability to gather information!). But after I spoke to hubby, he was like “no can do on dinner.. there’s a Giants game”. “Oh crap, it’s already that time??” I replied. So, I was back on the phone canceling our dinner plans.
And so it begins. I have become a football widow.
If you used to read my unemployment blog you know that I posted about this exact same phenomenon last year. And, if you were a reader last year, then you also know that it’s only a matter of time before the Dancing Hamster makes it’s re-appearance.
I suppose that there are indeed some positives that come from hubby’s football interest. I mean, after all, I do get quite a few quiet weekends to do whatever I want.
And, I guess it’s just too bad for hubby that I have to actually walk through the man cave to get to the laundry room…. Cause, you all know how he feels about Sunday’s being a “Day of Rest”. And for me, football or no football, Sundays are a day to get stuff done!
I suppose our house is more the exception rather than the rule. We both love football. The Significant Other is thrilled to have a football-loving girlfriend. I’m more of a college football fan, but I started playing fantasy football last year, so both Saturdays and Sundays are now consumed with all things football. Football season is my favorite season!
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Sometimes ~ You’re lucky that you both enjoy it! And, oh my… if hubby started fantasty football, I can’t even imagine that amount of time he’d be spending on it! I bet he’d move into the basement! 🙂
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I’m not a big football fan either. But my husband is. However I find that watching golf tournaments all weekend is worse than football. At least that’s usually only Sunday afternoon/evening for me. Golf Tournaments are like four days.
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JM ~ I actually don’t mind football (I’m just not nearly as interested as hubby is) but golf just sucks the life out of me. I can’t imagine 4 days of watching golf tournaments! I feel for you!!!
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I feel your pain….
My ol’ man is a COACH… we live football… it consumes our world from June until January…
The off season? Oh he coaches soccer…
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Sherri ~ YIKES! Hubby only thinks he’s a coach… I mean, he likes to yell instructions to the team while they are on tv…. does that count??
And, I actually do appreciate that it’s ONLY football that consumes his time (he just likes to remind me of this WAY too often, so I need to keep it on the DL)
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All I can say is suck it up…football is an institution that hijacks relationships all over this great nation.
I have been blessed that my last two girlfriends have been incorrigible football fanatics and adjust their schedules for the upcoming games even moreso than I did. In fact, I think the real reason I didn’t marry my last love is because I love the Falcons and she loves the Eagles. Yikes!
You’ll be fine. After the first Sunday in February you’ll have your man back, unless of course the Giants win the Super Bowl and then you’ll have to wait until after the parade to have his full attention again. 🙂 Enjoy!
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Skrapdiggy ~ Well, you just said the evil “Eagles” word.. and uttering that “Team Who Shall Not Be Named” at our house could just get you booted! You did the right thing by not marrying her… BRAVO! 🙂
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Aww, don’t be like that. Football season does not have to be the loss of your husband when you add a few ground rules.
It’s important for your husband to be able to pursue something that brings him joy. He is just as much an individual with likes and dislikes as you are. (i.e. you dislike football) Let him know that those 17 weeks that he is not able to “check out” of the marriage completely. If he gets to be propped up on the couch for 17 weeks on Sunday afternoons, Monday nights and an occassional Thursday, then he MUST schedule special time with you once a week doing something of your choice and without complaint.
Also, on the flip side. If you don’t already know football, it won’t hurt for you to learn about it. I know here in Atlanta, each season they have a clinic for women to come and learn about football and how to play. It’s really great! Lots of the women come away really interested in the complexities of the game!
Another thing you can do is have a Wive’s No-Football Sunday once per month. Get with wives together and do something on Sunday afternoons once per month. OR better yet, come together husbands and wives rotating homes for football watching either together or ladies doing something else.
It doesnt have to be miserable.
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David ~
Thanks for your thoughts and to be honest it’s not “miserable”. And, believe it or not, on occasion I do actually watch a game with the boys (and on other weekends I do enjoy some boy-free time!!)
It’s just a reminder for Hubby that all of our chores don’t magically disappear when it’s football season. And, even thought he’s occupied for these weeks… there really aren’t any fairies living in our attic!! (https://thehubbydiaries.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/a-brigade-of-fairies/)
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LOL this used to bug me so much ( now it only bugs me a little ) because you are lucky to only have your husband be an American football fanatic. Well mine is American football (include college in there) and he also is fanatic about football or soccer as you guys call it. So there is never any football down time. And spontaneous outing are a no go BUT
I no longer fret or sulk about it because i just use the weekends to do what I want (albeit byt myself) and that may include watching one or two of the games.
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Oh I forgot I posted on this in July when the Worldcup was in full swing
http://ishouldnthavetosay.blogspot.com/2010/06/world-cupnba-finalswsuperbowl-widow.html
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Oh Gayle.. I can only say that I’m glad I’m not you… (no offense of course). If hubby switched to other sports after football season I’d have to kill him 🙂
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On this one, I’m with you. (You may faint now.)
Weekends are for getting things done around the yard. This fall, this here boy gets to celebrate his manliness by digging postholes, toting cinderblock, and trenching in irrigation lines.
Football, meh. I just can’t get excited about whether a bunch of guys who have nothing whatsoever to do with me (wearing the name of my city on their clothing signifies nothing) win or lose at something that they are getting paid to do. No, “can’t get excited” isn’t strong enough. More like the whole idea irks the hell out of me. Maybe it’s because of the amount of my tax dollars, earned at an ACTUAL JOB, that have gone to line their pockets for playing a game.
Is there some reason you can’t go to dinner without him?
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IJL ~
*GASP*. Wait just one second, so I can change my contacts, or grab my glasses… because I think I just read…. oh wait, maybe I did read…. holy crap!… it says you agree w/ me?????
Certainly no reason I can’t have dinner alone.. or with other friends, which I surely do. I find plenty of quiet, enjoyable ways to spend this non-hubby time. The challenge of course is that during football season hubby relies FAR too heavily on the fairies in the attic.
And….. he AND his buddies all seem to leave extra crumbs out to reward them for their hard work!
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I grew up in Tallahassee with my Seminoles, and as any ‘Noles fan will tell you, we bleed garnet and gold. I must say, in our house, I am the football finatic! I once broke up with a guy who wouldn’t stop calling me during the Florida vs Florida State game. I mean really – it’s one day and it’s the biggest game of the year!
I can commiserate with you though. My hubby lives to ski – and the ski season lasts for 6 months – give or take depending on travel. I once proclaimed that the mountain was his mistress while I was his wife.
I can understand needing to blog about being football widow. I think you should use it more to your advantage though. My hubby watches the kids while I watch football and doesn’t complian b/c I watch the kids while he skis. It’s a win-win in that realm. Oh did I mention that he plays golf a couple of days a week, mountain bike rides on two other days, and works out for an hour or more a night? Wait – I blog an hour or so a night, and work on my jewelry biz for another couple of hours each night….so I guess it evens itout.
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