Call me old fashioned, but I don’t mind. I enjoyed those long-ago times when our family spent Saturday nights over a family dinner and then gathered around the television for a movie. In those days, it was often a Disney made-for-television movie with wholesome stories and fun the children were certain to enjoy. To this day, Double Switch and Not Quite Human are movies my grown children delightfully recall.
Nowadays, unless we go out for a movie (rare because we have Netflix, Hulu and multiple other options), Saturday nights are no longer movie nights. The children (for all practical purposes, anyway) are mostly gone and movies have lost a good bit of their luster (at least for me).
But Saturdays, when I am mentally ready to sit back, relax and enjoy a fun flick (whether drama or comedy), I’m the only one in the household with this mindset.
Not that the others don’t have their noses glued to a screen. Saturdays do mean something to them … but the day doesn’t translate to anything close to movie-time. Thanks to the wonders of ESPN and College Football Saturday, there’s no doubt sports will be airing on screens (televisions, computers, smartphones, iPads, etc.) throughout the house! In fact, with the addition of Thursday night and Friday night, Saturday – all day, in fact – we’ve transitioned into a weekly college football triple play!
My Beloved was once a Dallas Cowboys fan. Because of his love for the game, I used to spend Sunday afternoons and frequent Monday nights watching football with him. I learned the game, paid attention to the players and coaches, understood which teams were expected to be Super Bowl contenders. When there were NFL issues in the news, I paid attention. But somewhere along the line, the Cowboys fell out of grace (with my Beloved and subsequently with me). He didn’t stop watching games entirely, but his devotion was minimal. I followed suit.
ASIDE: All the hullabaloo rippling through today’s NFL stays in my periphery. Their ongoing efforts to attract more women to watch the game is a huge yawn for me. (I’m not a fan of pink, certainly not the hideous hot pink they’ve used.) I was a fan when NFL football was comfortable being a man’s sport. Allowing the league to be bullied – yes, bullied – by the government and other politically correct storm troopers because a team chooses to keep its Redskins name? This offends me! Stand up for member NFL teams (private businesses) or the bullies will win! D’you have the mettle of a 300-pound lineman … or the timidity of a 110-pound sideline cheerleader? If you proved it was the former, I might actually start watching again!
End Rant.
My Beloved’s three brothers live in other parts of the country. All of them love college football, but they’re focused on different teams. Phone conversations following a particularly hard-fought game aren’t unusual.
With our grandson living back at home (no longer in his college dorm), we have another enthusiastic football aficionado. He and my Beloved share a love for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Our elder son, also a Razorback fan, often works during home games (meaning he may even be on the field). In his off hours, he’s part of the Thursday/Friday/Saturday football routine.
I’ve posted before about my ambivalence toward some sports. Still, it’s hard not to be a Razorback fan. It’s part of our local culture. So today, in honor of the Hogs, I’m posting below a bit of whimsical verse in their honor. If you’re a fan of some other college football team, please indulge me. I promise I’d do the same for you!
