Reasons Why I’m Loving Football

During long flights, my brain wanders and I get to thinking about lots of random things. One of those things on my travels over to Europe was the game of football.

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it on the blog before, but I grew up in a football family. My dad has been a high school athletic director and football coach my entire life, my brothers played football, and one of them now coaches as well. I was a competitive cheerleader growing up, and cheered at football games from the age of 7 up to 17. So while I get that a lot of women have no interest in football, I not only understand the game, I love it.

With football season officially underway, here are some reasons why I’m digging the sport right now:

Funday Sunday…and Monday: NFL football makes Sunday and Monday nights (and sometimes Thursday nights and holidays) more entertaining. I love the feeling of grinding through a busy Monday, then being able to relax and watching a game at night, or not being as bummed about the weekend ending because a good game is coming on.

Football Food: Who doesn’t like to eat some good food while watching a game? I like to make fun appetizers and take typical football food and make it healthier. Guacamole, hummus, cream cheese mushroom puffs, and my spinach & artichoke dip are good examples.

Smack Talk Time: My hubby and his family are all Eagles fans, my little brother is a Cowboys fan, and my dad loves the Steelers… football season is full of endless smack talking, and it’s a good time!

Reppin’ My Giants Attire: I’ve said it many times, I’ll probably say it many times more – I’m a New York Giants fan. While I do wear clothes that represent the Giants year-round, I definitely kick it up a notch and wear it a lot more during football season. Living in California, there aren’t many Giants fans like myself around, so it’s kind of a funny conversation starter. In fact, when my hubby and I knew each other but weren’t dating yet, I’ll never forget that I walked into a bookstore he was in wearing a Giants jersey and he said something along the lines of, “What are you wearing? That jersey disgusts me.” Quite the sarcastic one he is!

Fantasy Football: Playing in a Fantasy league is a lot of fun, and this year I’m in two! One of the leagues includes my hubby and best friend as competitors, while the other is my co-worker’s league where I’m the only female, and also the only person under the age of 40. It’s funny because I find myself cheering for people to do well that I’m not really a fan of just because I have them on my team and want to win.

Any ladies who dislike Sundays right now because their man plops himself in front of the TV all day, you might want to keep in mind that Fantasy Football helps you learn the game better, makes it more interesting to watch, plus you can win some money! No, not buying it? Okay, how about this: You can strike a deal with your man that you won’t complain about his incessant football watching and Fantasy Football stat checking IF you get a gift with some of the money he wins in his league? If he’s not in a league (or one where there’s money involved), maybe that idea could still work somehow?! As in a gift for being a great football enduring girlfriend/wife??

Are you a football fan? What’s your favorite sport?