Ten on Tuesday - 10 Reasons to Watch Football

I don't watch football, not anymore, at least.  When I was growing up, football was how my father and I bonded.  We watched every college and pro game on TV or listened on radio (sometimes both, simultaneously!).  We went to high school games on Friday and Saturday nights.  We went to NFL training camps and the Hall of Fame.  After I moved away, I almost always came home on Sundays so I could watch football with Dad.  If I didn't, we'd be on the phone first thing Monday morning, catching up and dishing on who missed what tackle.  We were totally all about football, and I loved it.

Dad died in 1987, two days after I turned 30, and on his 64th birthday.  Slowly, my interest in football began to wane.  It just wasn't the same with out Dad.  I still had a lot of football-crazy friends (in Columbus, Ohio, just about everyone is football crazy), so I still watched a lot of games with friends, but I did it more for the social aspect than actually watching the game.

When I met Pete, my interest revived briefly.  He's a Cleveland boy and was a big Browns fan.  I liked the Browns, so we watched a lot of games together.  Then the owner of the Browns absconded the team off to Baltimore (dirty words...dirty words...), and Pete and I agreed we no longer cared about football.  In recent years, he's softened a bit in that stance.  I haven't.  I have less than no interest in ever watching football again.

However...since this is supposed to be about reasons to watch football and NOT reasons why I never watch football anymore, let me pull on some memory cells and see what I can come up with...

1.  It's a fun way to hang out with friends, eat unhealthy but delicious food and drink beer.
2.  Ok...it's exciting when there's a big play, an "immaculate reception", an impossible catch.
3.  A lot of those guys look pretty cute in those tight pants.  But not all of them...eek...
4.  It's an officially sanctioned way to practice the ritual of primal screaming which can help with stress reduction.
5.  Marching bands - although most halftime shows on TV these days are just stupid talk.  In the old days, marching bands RULED!  If you go to a game, you can actually SEE a marching band - and they are the coolest thing about football by far.
6.  It's a nice way to enjoy a cool crisp fall day.  Or a wet soggy fall day.  Or a frigid, snowy fall day.
7.  Did I mention hanging out with friends and drinking beer?  I did?  Ok...
8.  Super Bowl parties are usually a lot of fun even if you don't watch a minute of the game (see #1 and #7).
9.  Everybody's gotta believe in something, why not believe in your local team?
10.  Food.  Beer.  Friends.  Repeat as necessary.