Tonight I fed my children dinner, lovingly yelled at them to not ride their bikes in the road, bathed them and read them lots of books before bed----all while the radio was on so I could every once in awhile catch the score of the BYU football game. Hub and Ike had driven several cities away to actually watch the game on TV since our satellite company is El Stinky and doesn't get Versus. So the question begs, why didn't I go too since I enjoy me a good football game? Simply put: Hub is the Rabid Fan and I am just the Healthy Normal Fan that realizes children don't watch a football game and they desire nourishment and bedtime. (and yes, I mean rabid and not the more benign term of avid as you will see why)
Here is how we differ in our fandom:
The Rabid Fan thinks you must be sitting in your stadium seat 10 minutes prior to kickoff and you don't leave your seat until the game is finished, no matter if the game is a blowout and you could beat the traffic home. The Rabid Fan also believes it's reasonable to endure blizzard-like conditions to watch a game.
The Healthy Normal Fan thinks it's OK to miss kickoff if you still need to find pockets to smuggle treats into the stadium. The HNF also knows that it is perfectly fine to listen to the last ten minutes of the game on the radio while you are speeding down 9th East. She also knows that if her toes are numb with frostbite then the Cougars will forgive her for going home early.
The Healthy Normal Fan thinks it's OK to miss kickoff if you still need to find pockets to smuggle treats into the stadium. The HNF also knows that it is perfectly fine to listen to the last ten minutes of the game on the radio while you are speeding down 9th East. She also knows that if her toes are numb with frostbite then the Cougars will forgive her for going home early.
The Rabid Fan will always volunteer to go to a game and childcare and lactating spouses are secondary concerns.
The HNF knows that going to a game with a Rabid Fan spouse will result in several hours of childcare and maybe it's OK to miss the stadium experience while nursing...
The Rabid Fan will stay up late to watch postgame interviews and commentary and eagerly get the paper in the morning to read more about the game--as if he hadn't watched the whole thing already!
The Rabid Fan will stay up late to watch postgame interviews and commentary and eagerly get the paper in the morning to read more about the game--as if he hadn't watched the whole thing already!
The HNF is pleased as punch to win, but doesn't need to relive every big play and see the same footage on SportsCenter.
The Rabid Fan gets a teensy bit angry when the Cougars are playing poorly and has been known to break things and utter words not fit for those little pitchers.
The HNF realizes it's just a game and will say in a chipper voice, "We'll get 'em next time!" when her team is losing.
See what I'm dealing with? The Rabid Fan just sucks all the fandom out of me. We could deal with our differences before the kiddies came along, but now I have to pull the Mother Martyr card and be there for them. Maybe one day we can all sit down and enjoy a good win together again, but as for now, I'll just be catching the score in between loads of laundry.
And in Rabid Fan's defense.... he would argue that is just a Better Fan than yours truly. And he does remember he has a family during halftime. I guess if being a Rabid Fan is his only flaw, then he ain't doing too bad. (is that a good mea culpa, sweetie? hope so!)
And in Rabid Fan's defense.... he would argue that is just a Better Fan than yours truly. And he does remember he has a family during halftime. I guess if being a Rabid Fan is his only flaw, then he ain't doing too bad. (is that a good mea culpa, sweetie? hope so!)
I hate to be too matchy-matchy so I just dressed my whole fan-ily in BYU gear but me (2007 so no Syd--don't worry though, she fits into the pink BYU shirt now!)
11 comments:
That is so funny. I'm afraid I'm only in the "mother martyr" category while BD is foaming at the mouth during football season.
Could be worse right? They could be hunters.
I am no fan at all! I don't watch or listen to the game. I don't care to hear who was victorious! I hate to say it but football does not interest me even a tiny bit. But if I was forced to watch it, I would have cheered for BYU or whatevert team was from Utah. Unless they were playing against Alabama.lol ROLL TIDE!
Yeah, I like that it's happening (the byu games) and I want BYU to win and all, but I'm just happy that we aren't THAT much into it over here. sure, let's watch the utah-byu game, or the hot last 30 minutes of an exciting game...but the whole 3 1/2 hour game every saturday in Fall? Don't tell me you spend more time talking with Leon in a week than he spends watching that game!
I was hoping to read a response by Leon...has he NOT seen this post yet??? I'm not sure how he survived the news that the BYU games weren't going to be on HIS television!!??!?!
We keep up on the score by checking people's Facebook comments! Wendy Smith is pretty good at updating everyone : )
I must be some kind of a fan since I wouldn't mind a whole wardrobe that read BYU : )
The "rabid" fan didn't always stay in his seat the whole game. We used to spend more time outside playing our own game of football than actually watching BYU.
I read this post before it was posted to give approval I was not going to comment on it myself. But, I changed my mind. – plus Summer requested it.
Being a “rabid” fan means a lot of pain sometimes (like this last weekend) but it also means a lot of joy. The more you are invested into it the more joy, or sorrow, you feel. If you are not invested into BYU Football then I am sorry that you do not get to experience the same extreme happiness I do on most Saturdays.
Also I will say that it is a worthwhile time expenditure. I have many grand memories of going to games with family – even if a lot of the time was spent playing football on the grass outside the stadium. I like the bonding time with my son and expect much more of it with many of my kids. I am also supporting players trying their best to perform on the field and represent my school and church on and off the field. BYU football has brought a huge (make that HUGE!!!) amount of recognition to it as an institution and the Church who owns it. A very worthwhile cause to cheer for and support – not just idly hear about. I think spending 52 hours a year intensely cheering on the BYU team and bonding with those also watching is much more worthwhile (and usually brings a lot more joy) then spending it shopping, crafting, reading fictional nonsense books, reading trash media magazines, or . . . maybe that list is enough so I don’t offend every person.
GO COUGARS!
Rabid Fan---nice justification. And did you really need to open a debate into 'worthwhile' hobbies? Hopefully everyone is done reading because you just found a way to insult my small group of readers who craft, read, shop and enjoy newsstand magazines. Interesting that you didn't touch on people wasting time playing card games....
It's great to bond over a win, but to sulk for hours over a loss is truly pitiful. And I really don't know anyone who shops every Saturday for 3 and 1/2 hours. And what mother is reading for those same straight hours if her kids are running around?? Do you really want to go there with me? Now I'm ticked. Just wait 'til you get home!
According to your stipulations, I am a rabid fan. Which I knew...but still. We flew to Dallas for the game, and I too drove two cities away to watch Saturdays game. But probably shouldn't have.
Go Cougs! (a lot less punch to that one now)
Wow--sounds similar to our Saturdays. I hate the downs after a loss, so I don't miss the highs. We were way bummed after our sad loss, too. Aren't we glad people have different hobbies so that the world isn't boring?
I am so glad I have a husband that doesn't watch sports. I don't have to worry about him being a crazy fan. Sorry to say it, but when BYU and UofU play, I secretly hope UofU wins just because of all the BYU fans around here. Okay Leon, now that I've offended you, we are even (LOL). I love to read novels. Sometimes fantasy is better then reality. The books I read always have happy endings, unlike football games.
HA HA HA HA HA......I love the excuses they have to justify their "hobbies"! Trav is not a football fan but he is a Biker! (Mountain/trials)
I agree with LC, it could be worse... They could be hunters or golfers :)
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