The town has gone Super Bowl crazy. That is the sole topic of conversation around here which leaves me out in the cold since I never watch football.
Football, like baseball, is a really slow game, with long periods where nothing happens. I prefer the fast moving pace of games like basketball, hockey, rugby and soccer. Even there, I would rather see them in person instead of sitting in front of a TV set with beer and fattening foods. Even better is actual participation in a sport. I like the exercise.
It seems that football fanatics find their self worth in the fortunes of some team. If the Packers are defeated today, the fans will take it personally, feeling that the team let them down. They will obsess about this for weeks, blaming the coach, blaming the quarterback, blaming the defense. If they win, credit goes to the fans who cheered them on.
I escaped this obsession because of my mother. She was the primo uno sports fan. Early on, she noticed that if I watched a game, her team would lose, so she would send me out of the room....to my great relief. Even years later, I would get pathetic phones calls from her on weekends asking if by some chance I had the TV on, thereby jinxing the team.. I could tell her team was losing. She couldn't bring herself to blame the home team, so she laid it on me. I still tell people around here about that, and they, too, think it a fine idea that I not get involved.
So no football for me this evening. Hallelujah! It's just a game.
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