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?

I had to make a hard decision today. Christmas Eve is tomorrow, but we are expecting bad weather. My family gathers for Christmas on Christmas Eve several hours from where I live. I had to make a judgement call to not go. I'm rather sad about not going, because I love being able to spend time with everyone. Also, I have a new born cousin I'd like to meet.

This brings me to the topic of family. I've been a part of several different family get togethers over the years and no two are exactly the same. My family is very interesting in itself.  Our holidays are call "food festivals."  This is adequately named, because that's really what they are.  The actual holiday doesn't matter - only the food.  Thanksgiving is particularly bad.  For 4 days we all get together and do nothing but eat.  It's amazing we're not all 500 lbs or more. 

What makes holidays in our family really special is not just the food (even though the food is Cordon Bleu outstanding), but the conversations.  Have you seen Wedding Crashers?  You know that outspoken/racist old grandma?  Well, we have characters who are equally amusing.  The characters who play roles in our holidays include: the outspoken Uncle who has more life experience and opinions than almost all other family members put together, the quiet nun-like aunt and grandmother who have never sworn a day in their lives (they are sisters after all), the comedian father (he's like a robin williams in training), the semi-racist grandparents (they remind me of the parents on Everyone Loves Raymond's), and the rest of the pawns are all there for comic relief. 

What's my role?  I'm just a pawn.  I help the comedic father in his never ending quest to get the rest of the family to spit food and drinks across the table due to an unexpected bout of comedy.  Although, I'm usually the one spitting food.  Of course, the food is followed by games of backgammon, dominos, and cards, and more food.  Bet you didn't guess that.

The best part of the family get togethers is that it doesn't matter if anyone spit-up at a meal.  Nor does it matter if someone did.  It just mattered that we spent it together.  I secretly think we eat so much food, because food makes people happy and happy people complain less.  My family hates complainers.

I enjoy spending time with all of our family as often as possible. You never know how long people will live and how much time you have left to enjoy their presence. Treasure every moment. I do.