Watching Football With Mom

Last night, the NFL kicked off the season with one of the few non-playoff games available to watch for free on network TV.

Until the playoffs, with a few exceptions, the NFL makes you subscribe to watch. Dear YouTube, I’d rather eat my $158 every month. And the other subscription, Peacock, I like $4.99 more than I like football.
I have only been watching the sport for three seasons, starting with the Bills game when Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. For anyone wondering, Hamlin will play in their opening game.

https://thespun.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/bills-announce-major-damar-hamlin-depth-chart-update-before-week-1

My son think’s it’s hilarious that I’m watching football. But I can thank him for my interest. He played one season when he was seven years old, (it was a cult) so I understand more than the basic rules. Understanding makes all the difference.

Another reason I watch is because it’s something I can do with my mom. She will tell you she’s old, and she’s not lying. She can’t quite hear, even with hearing aids, or see well, despite cataract surgery and glasses. What bothers me though is that she roots for both teams.

“Run! Run! Run!”

I turn sideways to face her on the sofa and yell as loud as I can because if I didn’t, I would have to repeat myself several times.

“MOM. PICK A TEAM. YOU CAN’T CHEER FOR BOTH TEAMS, YOU JUST CAN’T.”

“Okay, I like Lamar Jackson.”

“SO, YOU WANT THE RAVENS TO WIN.”

“No, just him. Who is your favorite?”

[Sigh.]

“I WANT ISIAH PACHECO TO WIN.”

“Who?”

“CHEIFS #10. HE LOOKS SO TINY NEXT TO THE OTHER PLAYERS BUT KEEPS RUNNING STRAIGHT INTO THE 300+ LBS GUYS IN DEFENSIVE LINE. HE BOUNCES BACK UP LIKE IT WAS NOTHING AND DOES IT AGAIN. I WANT TO KNOW IF HE’S IN PAIN THE DAY AFTER A GAME. OKAY? GOOD TALK. CAN WE WATCH NOW?”

“I hate those tattoos and nose rings, why do they do that? It’s hideous…”
“MOM, YOU DON’T HAVE TO GET A TATTOO. DON’T GET PIERCINGS IF YOU DON’T LIKE THEM. FOCUS ON SOMETHING ELSE!”

“There are too many flags and bad calls.”
[I nod but offer no reply.]
“That Travis Kelce needs to stop looking up at his girlfriend and pay attention to the game.”
[For the love of god, I am a saint.]
“MOM, YOU NEED TO STOP TELLING ME WHO HE’S LOOKING AT AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE GAME.”

The game ended dramatically, almost going into overtime. It was enough already. My wish for it to stop came true at the end of the fourth quarter. I wanted to sleep.

Throughout the game, I had a few random thoughts:
I could have caught that one.
My mom could have caught that one.
I cannot believe they had an ad encouraging people to register to vote. Way to go, NFL. A quick Google search told me they’ve done this before. Still, good job on that.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/VBzTcJEnxhhTrrNv/?mibextid=UalRPS

https://vote.gov/