Can Women Learn To Like Football?

It's football season and I wanted to re-post an article I wrote...remember ladies, if you can't beat them, join them!

Women enjoying a football game....is this possible? If they understood the point of the game would it make a difference? This is a topic very close to my heart. I am a woman who LOVES football! I know, it's pretty unusual to find a girl who not only likes football, but knows all the positions, and can critique the players with the most expert male fan!

After several years of explaining the game to the supportive, but confused, "Pop Warner" mothers, I found that the problem does not lie within the "gender" factor, it is about knowledge. Men do not seem to have the patience or desire to take the time to teach their wives, daughters or girlfriends about this great American sport.

I first begin with the most simplistic and basic point of football.....the concept. I point out the orange markers, and tell them that the players have four plays to move the ball from the first marker, past the second marker. If they succeed, they get four more tries to hopefully score a touchdown. I explain what a down marker is and tell them that the number on the marker tells what "down" it is, (and remind them that they only have four attempts to pass the orange marker). If they do not succeed the other team takes over the ball and tries to score against our team by going through the same process.

Okay, I know it is VERY basic information, but I can't tell you how excited they become once they are aware of the general idea behind game that they spend two hours watching every Saturday.

After they start to understand the basics, we eventually get into positions and the purpose behind each position. As the season progresses, I am amazed at the excitement and enthusiasm that the women have developed. They become united; they scream, cheer and run up and down the field with each other. The bond has now been created, as the men look at their wives with a new found sense of pride. Can women learn to love football? My answer is an emphatic, YES!

THE NERD AND THE MOUTH!

We have some great friends...they weren't going to be using their San Diego Charger Football tickets last night so they gave them to us (4 of them). We took another couple with us...we were going to take our two youngest boys, but they had practice and if they missed they wouldn't be able to play in their next games...coaches are tough!

We were warned about some guys that have season tickets just next to our friends...they get a little drunk and rowdy. WOW...they forgot to warn us about the scrawny, pasty white, beady eyed, beak nosed, nerdy guy directly above me!!

When we sat down he was already hammered. He gave my husband an attitude when he asked the guys sitting next to nerd boy to hand him his water that was a row below them (we tried to switch seats for a while). He said, "Are you kiddin me dude, it's ****** two rows down?" I froze for a minute thinking, "Oh no, he's going to knock this guy out and we will be kicked out!" To my surprise, he ignored him and the big guy (who my husband had asked) handed him the water, "No problem bro." My husband just stared down nerd boy and didn't say anything!! Can you imagine the change in my quick tempered, Italian hot head! Since getting baptized...he has been getting soooo much better. He would NEVER take anything from anyone, EVER! When nerd boy turned around, my husband did make a little gesture with his foot, like he was going to kick him upside his head, but he didn't (PROGRESS) LOL!

We had to eventually move back down just below him when people came. I have NEVER heard anyone so obnoxious in my whole life. "What's the matter with you guys? You're idiots..make a tackle? C'mon San Diego you suck! TACKLE...TACKLE...TACKLE! What, who was that thrown to, the guy in the parking lot? WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!" I thought I got a break from his non stop screaming when the cheerleaders came out, I was wrong. "GOOD JOB HOOKERS! HOOKERS...THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!" Then everyone started doing the wave, what can he possibly come up with to scream about now? "What's the matter with you San Diegans...STAND UP...YOU SUCK!" Everytime the wave came around he would repeat the same thing like a broken record!!!!

The lady next to me finally looked up and said, "You are ridiculous!" "SIT DOWN B****!" he shouted back. Then on the Jumbo Tron they showed a football player saying, "Remember to drink responsibly, your behavior effects those around you." He stands up and yells, "TOO LATE M***** F*****!" The cops came and stood watching him...he calmed down a little but still kept shouting stuff. The game was coming to an end so the lady next to me left, the moron looks at his friends and yells, "I'm glad that B**** is finally leaving...she's bugging me!" W H A T...I just started laughing, I couldn't believe he was serious!! Are we on Candid Camera or something??!!?? After a while the four of us were just laughing because it was unbelievable. He had absolutely no filter...whatever he thought came out of his mouth!

Oh yeah...the football game...we won by one point 18-17! It's pretty bad when you get so distracted that you forget to watch the game. We got to the car and were sitting for about an hour...not moving. So I started shouting, "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU IDIOTS...MOVE YOUR CARS! WHO BUILT THIS STUPID STADIUM WITH ONLY TWO EXITS ANYWAY?" Just kidding...I didn't...but it went through my head! LOL!

Hawaii Game Results

Well my son played his game last night in Maui...it started at 7:00 p.m. their time, 10:00 p.m. our time. We had a friend call us every quarter to give us the update and play by play. Since we couldn't go I wanted to make sure I felt like I was there. The first call we received was 14-0 us. Next update was 21-10, the 10 points was scored by a fumble and interception. The defense (my son plays safety) did not allow any points...YAY!!! After the second call they asked if I still wanted them to call when it was over because it would be 1:00 a.m. our time. Are you kidding me? Do you think I could wait all night for the final score! LOL! I just told him, "Yeah, I never sleep anyways so I will be up."

The last call came in at 12:45 a.m...my son had blocked a punt and made some great tackles...Safety is a scary position, your the last person to stop them from making a touchdown. Which means they either LOVE you or HATE you. As a mom in the stands...you just pray your son doesn't make a mistake, the comments you hear make you want to throw blows defending your son. This is the world of football at one of the best football schools in the state...competitive not only on the field, but in the stands too! It pays off though...WE WON 43-10!! GO CHARGERS!!!

Still Alive and Kickin'

I feel like I haven't posted in FOREVER! Like I said, "I'VE BEEN SWAMPED!" My middle son, Jullien is in Hawaii for their first Varsity game (boo hoo for me, yes I cried cuz I wanted to be there). He left on Monday...game's on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. I talked to him yesterday and he said he's having fun, but it was CRAZY hot...they are not used to heat above 80. Then they went to some cliffs and the boys started jumping off a 50 foot cliff into the ocean. All my boys and me are afraid of heights...soooo I asked, "What did you do?" He said, "I was the last one left standing up there and everyone was yelling at me to jump. I backed away from the edge and took a running leap off the cliff." How does that saying go, "If your friends told you to jump off a cliff would you?" I now know the answer...LOL! He said he was so scared and felt like he was falling FOREVER!! He even did it a second time...peer pressure...football players can't be wooseys!!

Elijah had his scrimmage game, he played running back, quarterback and linebacker, they won! Anyways, that's why I haven't posted in a while, I was editing the pictures and putting them into an album to send out to all the parents. The things I get myself into...it's VERY time consuming, but a few of the parents said, "THANK YOU, WE LOVE THEM!" I guess it's worth it. The more I practice the better I get, right?

Our church had a picnic so I took my camera and took some pictures...I wasn't very happy with the way they turned out, now I don't want to forward it to them because they will think, "Thanks but no thanks! Why is it that the pictures that you really want to turn out good, look terrible? I'll send it to them and attach a few pictures of other shots i've taken that were good, just to let them know that I don't always take such terrible pictures! Oh well, guess you can't get better unless you make mistakes.

Here's a link to my Football album...just click "View Now" and then you can play a slideshow because there's A LOT of pictures, we are in all white...those are just practice jersey's (it was the first scrimmage) our real uniforms are Green Bay Packer colors...
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=988211219305792075/l=414448221/g=121510574/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB