Married Vs. Dating

On our way home from a very nice holiday party the subject of Football came up. We are in the heat of the playoffs and I lamented the fact that my Raiders were no longer prominently involved. Lately when I bring up the Raiders, and it’s not that often, Kate tells me she doesn’t believe me. She doesn’t believe I am a fan of the Raiders or even of Football in general. How dare she! She must have had too much to drink at the party, why am I letting her drive in this condition? I asked her to pull over right away so I could issue a sobriety test, but she called me an idiot and reminded me that she is 8 months pregnant and hasn’t even had a sip tonight. I thought it would pass but Kate fells strongly about this subject. She said I just like saying I’m a Raiders fan for the reaction. She said I care more about story then games and being a Raider Fan is just a convenient vehicle for telling stories. She is really making me angry at this point but she is far from done. She said there is no question I love the Lakers or the Dodgers because I talk about them a lot. She repeated a lot while making an exaggerated head nod for dramatic effect. The only time she hears me talk about the Raiders is when other people ask if I’m a fan of the Colts. I still think she is drunk at this point but it can also just be the rampant hormones in her body from the pregnancy, either way she is out of her mind. She is wading into dangerous water and I am not sure she can see the shore anymore. She badgered me to admit she was right, but I will never do it. She is dead wrong. Hitting her stride she offered as evidence the Kobe trade talks with the Lakers against the Randy Moss draft day trade. Kobe didn’t even get traded and I talked about it every day for two months. She only heard that Moss was a Raider from an NFL broadcast. Please, you can’t compare Kobe to Moss, that is just crazy. She said I am married to the Lakers, I am married to the Dodgers, but I am a best friends with the Raiders. She said I’m not even dating them, I’m not even best friends with them, they are just people that I know and might have grown up with but their not in my fantasy league or anything. They weren’t invited to my wedding, hell their not even friends on Facebook. Though it’s 11 at night she demands that I give her my phone so she can call Kyle. He will agree with her. I wouldn’t give her the phone, Kyle would never agree with her and besides it midnight in Arizona. Even if he did what does that prove, no he wouldn’t agree. Kyle may hate football but he wouldn’t question my fanhood. Would he? HE DID! Kate chatted with him the next day on gmail and that Judas took her side! Et tu Sezo? He said Mark is married to the Raiders, but James is just friends. Can they be right? They can’t be right, I mean the Raiders and I have had some good times. Sure we have had some fights over money and the chores but who hasn’t? We may not be in love anymore but I made a commitment when I was 12 and 18 bad years can't erase the 3 good ones!

Friday Night Lights to Sunday night lows

This past Friday night I went to the local high school football game with my dad. It was really great being in the crowd watching the people who loved the game and the great majority who were just there because everyone else was. It was small town football at it's best and the home team dominated from opening kick off to the final ear drum shattering horn. I was told how great my dad was when he played ball for the Tigers and chastised for not having enough spirit by the biggest fan there Calvin. We walked over to the game, through the woods, down the hill and into the field that wasn't there when my dad played. His games were in the park in the middle of town. There are about as many people in the town of Clatskanie as went to my high school so things were on a much smaller scale but the same Friday night Football dynamics endure just as strong in the northwest as they do in Southern California. The little kids are playing in the grass behind the goal posts, the middle schoolers are watching the high schoolers and the high schoolers are fighting the mostly losing battle to be cool. The game was not good, but since the hated rivals Rainer blew out this team Clatskanie was obligated to do the same and they obliged.

Saturday morning I went to breakfast and then a short garage sale seesion with my lovely cousin Crystal and then parked my self in front of the TV for a long day of college football. Having a TV that gets those extra channels and being back in the Pacific time zone allowed me to watch the 9 AM ESPN game all the way through to the Hawaii game that ended around 11 PM. There was a lot of great football in there and one terrible car wreck of a game. My parents worked feverishly all day to get the house ready for Kate and Finn while I pinned for them in front of the TV with a bag of chips and a fantastic channel that should all the games in tiny little screens so you could flip around at will. We all have our own way of preparing!

I would like to say that I got more done on Sunday but really how could I with all those pro games on. I had to watch the Indy game so I could text Nathan, something I am afraid is going to be a tradition for me for years to come. Then the Raiders came on and it's been years since I have seen them play. The Raiders didn't disappoint either snatching defeat from the claws of victory in typical Raider fashion. I did get a bunch done to get Finn's room set up and all of Kate's clothes up in the closet so it wasn't all vegging. It has been a great weekend of football watching at almost every level but it really isn't the treat that it once was for me. I would have traded all those games, well maybe not the high school game, for a chance to be in the Aalsma's backyard with all of these beautiful people.