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This is about sports and politics. (I’m an expert at both so don’t give me any crap). Sharing my thoughts on everything that interests me, most likely music, football or politics.

How A Girl Becomes an NFL Fanatic

12:20 PM | Labels: , ,

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The beginning…

If I had to describe the way that I feel on game day I would have to say that for me it is like Christmas Eve. You know what game day is, right? Sundays between September and February; grown men dressed in tight pants and jerseys, cleats pads and helmets. Sometimes there are gloves and sometimes even face paint (that black tar looking stuff). I love this day. Anything could happen, everything is possible. Everyone has hope.

clip_image010_thumb1Since it’s Sunday I will make a confession. I have not always loved the sport of football as I do today. In fact as a kid I had a set bed time on school nights. Even though I live on the left coast the game always ran late and invariably had to miss my show. At the time it felt like the end of the world. Even if my Dad had fallen asleep in his chair I could not turn the channel until the game was over. It was an evil game. I would sit and watch it without seeing it because I was going to watch tv no matter what (Don’t ask what show it was because I don’t remember).

Reluctantly through my teens I started to become a little bit interested and I started to ask my Dad questions about the game. Why did the guy in stripes throw the flag? What’s that little countdown clock for?  Why do they only make try three times when they get four? What is with that ugly orange jersey? (Denver’s home jersey at the time, it has grown on me, just a little) You get the point. What I know now is those questions can annoy the hell out of men trying to enjoy a game / race / competition of any kind. You know, maybe I did back then too. It’s possible that’s how I learned to be passive aggressive.

sunday nfl ticket Now, you may be wondering what happened to change my mild interest into an obsession. Two things:  back to back Super Bowl rings and NFL Sunday ticket.  Well, fast forward to 1997ish. I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar. OK, country and western bar really but the other word sounds sexier. I was the new kid so I had the honor of working Sunday afternoons which were called Family Day when the bar was just open in the afternoon. Unless there was a private party we were not that busy. The tv was always tuned to a football game so when one was on so when I in between orders or waiting for one I would watch. This was the first time I said out load I was a Bronco fan. At first it was the easiest answer. I was born there, I lived for a short time and I have family living in all corners of the Denver area.


Sports-Bar-Waitress By now I had grasp of the game so I didn’t ask a lot of questions. The bartender and I would talk football as we worked. This was the first time I consciously followed my Denver Broncos through an entire season. I think I chose a great year to start paying attention. Maybe it was because I didn’t have to watch it (after all I was at work) that my interest started to grow. It could also be that they started the season with 6 wins and no losses (boo Raiders!). I also love the underdogs. That was it I was hooked. You know what else is cool about football? It’s a great ice breaker when you are talking to men. It worked with the men I was working with and with the customers.


Something else unexpected was how football made my relationship with my Dad even better. My whole life he has had two nicknames for me that define my position in the family (the youngest): pun’kin and little gal (originated in the Midwest I think). I think it’s a product of the decades we grew up in that my Dad and I didn’t find it easy to find a common ground for conversation. We have always shared a love of music but now we had another. The Broncos.  I mentioned in passing one day that I had started catching the games thanks to my Sunday shift. I asked him what he thought the odds were that the Broncos could go all the way.  My Dad is a born skeptic. On the other hand I possess a unique random optimism. He sometimes gives up on a game at half time. He will call the World Series after the first three games; same with the NBA finals. So in 1997 I could blame him for the skepticism. Twelve years and three Super bowl tries:
  • Super Bowl XII versus Dallas Cowboys 27 Broncos 10
  • Super Bowl XXI versus New York Giants 39 Broncos 20
  • Super Bowl XXIV versus San Francisco 49ers 55 Broncos 10

joe montana edit The last two games had been with John Elway at Quarterback. The last in 1990 against the 49ers still hurts. Never forgave whatshisname for running up the score. I can hold a grudge. I still glare when I see him on tv. The whole season we debated we were debating yes they can versus no they can’t. Then we got to the playoffs.

 
OK, where was I? Right for that season my team ended with a record of 12 and 4. As the season played out I took on the role of cheerleader and my Dad took on the role as dream dasher by reminding me of the past. As the season went on though I sensed a change in our relationship I felt he was seeing me as an adult person for the first time. I think he also got a kick out of the fact we now shared a common interest that my Mom had no interest in. It was something just between us. “Going into the playoffs I remember asking my Dad, “Who wants it more?” Before the Wild Card game I knew they would win. My Dad tried to keep reminding me of Elway’s record in the payoff and how the game on January 4, 1997 had ended.


In my mind the 1997 season started on that day in January when the Broncos lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 30 to 27. A tough loss for my team but no one was surprised. I think if I had these following facts pregame my Dad would have had the same faith as I did.

  1. john elway1 John Elway scored a Franchise record, most touchdowns for one season, 27
  2. The Broncos ended 1997 First for total yards with 6,082
  3. The Broncos also ended First for total points with 472
  4. Defense rocked it too: 44 sacks versus Opponents 35

The best moment for me came when the Wild Card game was over.  Broncos won the game 42 to 17. I called my Dad as soon as it was over. He was laughing when he answered the phone, he had known it was me, “Okay little gal, you were right on this one.” I love my Dad.
Vindication! I was not just his daughter who had a passing interest in football. I was his grown up daughter who loved the Broncos as much as he did. Nice!
(To be continued the season was not over…)

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2 comments:

PolitiJim said...

This was really touching. Thanks for sharing that. Look forward to the next installment!

October 23, 2011 at 5:58 PM
Anonymous said...

I must have suppressed the traumatic 55-10 beating because I hate Phil Simms more than Montana. Maybe that's because he calls games for CBS. Jerk.

Nice story though. Looking forward to the next chapter.

October 24, 2011 at 4:04 PM

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