I grew up in a state where football is up on the scale next to God and the Republican Party. Papa Doodle was a high school football and baseball coach when I was a little girl, so I have vivid memories of being dragged to a practice or games occasionally.Up until the age of about 12 we only had one TV in the entire house, and it was just a well known fact in the Doodle household that Papa had the TV on Sundays, Monday Nights, and sometimes Thursdays.
You would think that being surrounded by football, I would love the sport and be knowledgeable in it.. The honest truth is that I'm really not at all. Now, I probably know more than the average American female, but coming from the state that I am, and the Papa who raised me, I don't know diddly squat. The thing is, those days when Papa Doodle had the TV I was bitter we had to listen to the obnoxious commentators and the roar of the fans, instead of my precious cartoons. Football was inevitably around me always. When we would visit Meme and Papaw Doodle, you can guarantee you'd hear a "How bout them Cowboys?" coming from one of my uncles. If anything, being surrounded so much by the sport made me want to avoid it all together.
Fortunately for my football IQ, it was almost a social expectation to attend the high school football games that were at my town's stadium- our prized possession. Through middle school and high school I would have been spotted on a Friday night among the crowd of the town, and I grew to enjoy the sport more during these times because I understood the game more and I was hanging out with all my friends. There even came a few instances where I would watch college games with Papa Doodle on our TV, and when I would make a comment or even mention a name, Papa Doodle unglued his eyes from the screen for a moment to give me a small surprised looked.
So these days I've had Koto on my hands, and he is on top of NFL, and apart of a fantasy football league with his friends like many other guys this time of year. One thing I like about Koto is he is the type of person that wants you to learn and know as much as possible. He doesn't even realize it but he loves to express his knowledge (and not in a boastful way whatsoever) just for the fact that everyone around him will know it as well. That being said, Koto has been giving me a crash course on the National Football League, and I am proud to say I am doing pretty well in it so far. I find myself looking forward to the outcome of games, or following the teams I like.
This upcoming weekend I'm excited for my Texans against the Saints, and I am interested to see how Romo plays against those Redskins. For the first time, I feel apart of this League and I can really appreciate all the work and energy that goes into it from all sides. From the players, to the coaches, the media, and the adoring fans, there is such love and devotion to this sport. I kind of wish that I came to this realization when I was living back home, where there is such support system for it.
There is something so beautiful about an enormous amount of people who have this devotion to a sport. And, yeah, they may not think it is as pretty as I do, but maybe deep down, all of the football lovers know how special this community really is.
Until Next Time,
Snoodle Doodle Jr.
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