The Football Faux Pas

Football Sunday.  In the midwest (and I'm sure elsewhere), it's a big deal.  There's football parties, socials, and any other name you use to describe a get together where people drink and eat profusely.  I try to avoid this ritual at all costs.

One of the reasons football Sunday bothers me is because apparently you have to cheer for your home team and boo all others.  That doesn't sound like fun to me...I like to root for the underdog, but I'm an equal opportunity rooter.  If our team does something good - I'll cheer for them.  If the other team makes an amazing play - I'll cheer for them.  I like to show appreciation to each team when they play well...and boo them equally when they don't play to their potential.

At first, I thought I was the only person who does this.  Afterall, doesn't everyone like to think they're unique?  But recently I spent a football Sunday with my brother.  Why hadn't I thought this might be a genetic/family trait thing?  Because that was too obvious.

On this particularly cold midwestern day a lot of people are wearing blue and orange to support their home team.  We are playing the rival green and gold team.  Ok, if you haven't guessed the Green Bay Packers verses the Chicago Bears, then you're special.  And if you don't know these two teams have a lot of bad blood, then you must live under a rock.

Either way, there's a large group of us all watching the hyped-up football game.  Around halftime, I noticed my brother and I were both booing and rooting at the same times.  I guess I was slow on the uptake.  I only noticed when other people started getting upset.  You see, they had clearly identified with the home team and my brother and I started rooting and booing for both.

Wow, what a football faux pas!  We should have been ashamed and embarrassed.  But being who we are, we laughed and started to root and boo louder.  Real mature, right?  Oh well, I guess it goes to show that everyone is slightly different and family may share their own rituals that no one else understands or is happy about.

Who won this game?  Does it really matter?  Well, in case you do care...it was the Packers.  Go Packers! LOL.  You do realize if the Bears had won I would be saying go Bears, right?