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Marriage and football can coexist

by WILL KIE, C&J 371
Reprinted with permission of the Cibola County Beacon

We all know the story of the NFL widow. She is the wife of the man who is gone from August through February. (The husband is not really gone, just parked in front of the television with the remote control in one hand and a frosty beverage in the other.) Football season. Marriages end over this age-old squabble.

"You're watching football again?" is a question many women learn prior to walking down the aisle, and with good reason.

There is more football on television than in any other time in broadcast television history. College football has been reserved for Saturday afternoons, but now there is usually a college game on ESPN beginning on Thursday, one on Friday, and hundreds on Saturday.

Flip through your channel listing and you can find Northeastern West Texas State versus Southwestern Northern Alabama in a rivalry that goes back before the Civil War.

And Sundays are now set aside for the mighty National Football League, with one more game on Monday night just to keep the male mind on the pigskin.

With so much football on television, who has time for being married?

I'll let you in on a secret -- I do.

Don't get me wrong guys, I love football; I watch as much as I can.

I can be found on the sidelines at most Laguna-Acoma games every Friday night, and for the past three years, in the student section at Lobo games on Saturdays. And on Sundays, I can be found in front of our big screen watching one of many NFL games from 11 a.m. until the last game is over, which is usually around 10 p.m.

If I am not watching a game, I am talking about it with my best friend. We go to every game together, we text-message each other the latest sporting news and we talk about how fun it would be to take road trips to see our favorite teams play live in giant corporate-owned stadiums.

I can hear them now, hundreds of women all at once asking, "Your poor wife, what does she do while you're running off to games with your friend? When you're watching football all day?"

That is my other secret. I do all this football watching with...my wife.

I never even stepped into a casino and I hit the jackpot. Trust me when I say this love affair with sports (and each other) began long before our first official date back in 1987.

My wife Kristina is beautiful, intelligent, educated and a football fan. She knows a lot about the game and the intricacies of offense and defense. She knows so much that several years ago, former Laguna-Acoma head coach Dale Hooper approached her and asked her if she would be the announcer for the Hawks' football team.

With the exception of a partial season when the principal replaced her with himself (he didn't last), she has continued to do the job quite well. Just ask the Diehard Jock if you doubt me.

At Lobo games, if you listen just a little bit, you will hear her yelling at the referees. If you hear a woman screaming, "Hey ref, that was a (insert your own expletive) call," that was probably my wife.

It may be no coincidence that in 1995, our wedding day coincided with the first game of the NFL preseason. "A perfect day," she said.

We don't buy each other an anniversary gift each year, but we do renew our subscription to the NFL Sunday Ticket on satellite so we can watch every game throughout the season.

That's right guys, I don't hang out with other guys when I watch football. I get to eat greasy food, drink cold beverages and watch as much football as I want with a hot woman. My wife.

She understands why I cannot wear the Seahawks' shirt I wore on opening day when my beloved 'Hawks lost to the Jaguars. She doesn't get mad at me when I turn the channel because I might cause a fumble or interception if I keep watching. She knows what a snotknocker is too, and I'll bet not many guys out there know what that is. Ask her next time you see her.

I have the kind of wife who looks beautiful in the latest fashions, but she is downright sexy when she puts on her favorite jersey.

I feel bad for all those husbands who won't get to watch football on Thanksgiving because their wives will be upset if they watch a silly game instead of spending quality time with the family.

Thanks honey, for not being one of those wives. Can I stop doing the dishes and watch the game now?

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