Confessions of a Football Fanatic's Wife

I have a sneaky feeling that some people feel sorry for me because of my husband's obsession with college football. While I must admit that on a few select Saturdays during the season it is a bit overwhelming, I really wouldn't want it any other way. I cant think of a single thing I would rather my husband enjoy watching over it. That's because I like to watch it too. But that's not my big confession. You probably already knew all that.

Here it is.

Sometimes, when I'm home alone, and there is 50 gazillion channels to choose from, I choose ESPN. And what's worse is I just made what I thought was a super killer deal with my husband- we canceled cable until next football season in exchange for an xbox 360 (we're talking almost 1000 dollars in savings plus he agreed to change alllll the baby diapers when he is home). But guess what... I kinda miss hearing all the familiar voices of our friends at ESPN. Even the really annoying ones like Lou Holtz. Okay, maybe not Lou Holtz. But everyone else's voice, besides his, I sorta miss. In fact, when I go to the gym to work out, I occasionally tune into ESPN for a few brief moments to bring back all the warm fuzzy memories that I had before I made the infamous xbox-agreement.

In memory of the long lost 2009 football season, I have compiled one picture from every game that we attended. With the exception of the first game against Charleston Southern- my battery was dead, Amy- can I get a copy of your's? So here it goes. Recap of 2009, sans Charleston Southern.


Lots of memories of the Troy game. Trent's good friend from BYU, Jake, was in town interviewing at the dental school so we decided to all go to the Gator Walk as part of the pre-game celebration. Both Jake and Trent can testify that I was only one extended arm away from hugging Tim Tebow. The ball was in my court and I let it drop, oh well. That is now my official biggest regret in life- not hugging Tebow when the opportunity presented itself.

Oh the hyped up Tennessee game. Since the Gator Walk was such a hit the previous week we decided to take another stab at it. After all, maybe I could apologize to Tebow. There were probably 500 times more people at the Gator Walk this week. All the crowds of people + first trimester nausea + the scorching heat of the afternoon = second biggest regret of my life- not selling my ticket for $120 when the opportunity presented itself (and it did indeed present itself).

Best football road trip ever. I already have a whole post dedicated to this battle in the Bayou, so no reminiscing necessary here.

The homecoming game. As part of the homecoming festivities we attended the Gator Growl, the student-run pep rally, the night prior . Despite the fact that the homecoming game was against Arkansas, I don't recall them mentioning Arkansas the entire night. Every single joke was on Florida State. I didn't really get that.

The great Florida-Georgia game held at the Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville on Halloween Day. Hence the Gator costume. The costume, however, was a failure as it looks more like a frog than a gator. Oh well, at least it provided a tad bit of shade during one of the hottest days of my life. And it wasn't because I was pregnant, although I did share the big news with my family earlier that day at a park in Jax Beach. It's still a wonder how I was able to gather all my siblings and parents in that Jax Beach park for a "Halloween BBQ" and not have them know the real reason for the get-together.

I accidentally wore exact Vandy colors to this game. It's a good thing it got cool enough towards the end to cover up my gold cardigan with my orange and blue sweater. We went to the famous Swamp Restaurant right before the game with the gift card my Grandma Jessie and Uncle Brent gave to us for graduation. It was quite the crowded place that afternoon, I think we were pretty darn lucky to be able to get a seat, that was in view of the TV, and be able to order, and get our food. Maybe you would have to see how packed the restaurant is on game day to appreciate such rarity.

No special memories come to mind for this game. I do remember getting there sometime after the first quarter because I was busy watching New Moon the morning of. Evidently there was only one thing on my mind after seeing the movie, and I don't think he was playing football.

It was all fun up until about this point. And then the game started and UF started their scoring rampage. Someone (it is still beyond me who actually snapped this one) captured so well how I was feeling during this game with the following photo. On a positive note, the company was fantastic. Jeff and Stacey were in town for Thanksgiving Break and we had so much fun going to the game with them. Stacey and I had a blast making Cheyenne a little gator onesie and tutu, and we all enjoyed taking turns passing her around during the game. Some stranger next to us even got a turn holding her.

One day, when I find the docking device for my camera, I will post pictures of our trip to the Sugar Bowl. But until then these pictures will have to suffice. And this brings us to the end of the '09 Florida Football Season.