The Most Wonderful Time of the year - originally posted on September 09, 2007

It's the most wonderful time of the year!
When the linebackers blitz, and the running backs twist, and ten thousand drunks cheer!
It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Gridiron season is finally here.

I love fall. The crisp breezes, jackets, the colors, the long nights, the trees, the leaves, the pollen, Thanksgiving, candy corn, "The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", football every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, two months until Basketball. Watching sports on all levels (high scool, college, professional) is it's most enjoyable at this time of year. I have even been known to watch baseball in October. Golf still has some shine too.

Everyone thinks that spring is the season of life, but fall is where the preparation is done. You can find squirrels and ants busy as hell this time of year. Shit, I sat on my porch yesterday and had a drink with a squirrel while he was on lunch break. We talked about the importance of building a future for your family; you know making life better for your kids. Trees send their seeds into the breeze with hopes they will find fertile ground. Bears stuff their faces so they cant get ready for their winter nap.

What do humans do in the fall?

Some of us congregate and live vicariously thru a group of individuals that possess the talents we all wish we had. Warriors that battle thru heat and cold, rain and snow; both on the field and in the stands. Football makes us believe that hard work and preserverance will eventually pay off. It makes us believe if we cheer hard enough we can push our team thru to victory. Talent can be dominated by the monentum gained from one improbable play. David can defeat Goliath; it happens every week when the underdog wins.

If I had a Y chromosome, I would have played football. I would have been a linebacker. Laying the hat to anyone who dared to enter my domain. There would be a highlight reel of my hits from high school thru college. I would have made my way into the league and made my mark on special teams. Doing the dirty work. Dominating my oponent play by play. Causing momentum changing fumbles in every game. I would be the fan favorite. Thousands of kids would be wearing my jersey. But females cant play football. So I have to live vicariously thru Lewis, Urlacher, Ware, and Merriman. I fell in love with football watching LT at Carolina when I was a kid. My father, the ultimate Carolina fan, would watch all their games on TV on Saturday. LT of course was too fierce. Broken bones lay in his wake. Cowboy fans all over love him for laying the most punshing hit on a Redskin ever!

Football is such a huge part of my life. I was taught the love of the game by my father. We spent countless hours together watching games. I hope one of my sons chooses to love this game the way I do. I cant wait to pour my love of the game into them.

I miss my dad the most during this time of year. He lives on in me. I cant wait to watch the game with him tonight. Cowboys and Giants in primetime.

Daddy I got the Boys by 10 over the Giants, who you got?

UrbanJournalist