Too Much Football!

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There’s never such a thing as too much football, especially when you have sisters who love it as much as I do 😃
 
Football is alright. I caught the end of the Alabama vs auburn game Saturday. That was the probably the best game of the season. That return was awesome.
 
The NFL had loser teams playing on Thanksgiving anyways, besides,Saturday was the better day to watch football anyways. The best conference? S.E.C
 
BlueEyedLady said:
Very true. During the offseason my phone alerts me if my team makes a trade, drops a player, if a player got in trouble, whatever. I get news alert updates. Actually, DH and I have different favorite teams we kind of adopted each others, so anytime anything happens with one of two teams I’m alerted immediately. We watch MNF every week regardless of who is playing, and every week we are sure to watch both my team and his. If they play at the same time we go to a sports bar and ask to be seated in view of both. Our friends are pretty used to us having to check the football schedule before making any plans on Sundays, Mondays, or Thursdays, and the draft is essentially a holiday in my home.
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I can identify with this, only it’s skating. A few weeks ago, we attended the opening synchronized skating competition of the season, which happened to coincide with the Midwestern Sectionals (regular skating–pairs, dance, singles). So we drove back and forth between the two competitions! It’s so much fun when you actually know some of the competitors or teams.

Part of the fun is meeting all the other people who are so fanatical. I have synchro friends that I have known for decades, and we all catch up with each other at the competitions. One thing that’s nice about figure skating is that the regular ice makes (Zamboni) gives us all time to chatter.

I think all of us have something that we love with a passion. I respect what others do, whether it’s collecting Precious Moments or hunting deer or attending opera. How boring it would be if we were all alike!
 
EasterJoy said:
If you’re being ignored for golf and the WNBA, too, I suspect the TV is not the main issue. It could be, since ESPN addictions are hardly unknown, but it also could be that you and they lack any mutually-esteemed topics.
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I believe it’s turned into more of a sports addiction/obsession than just a mania for the home teams. We were shushed at one party not long ago because the recap of the day’s happenings in the LPGA was on. This was from people who can’t tell you the current standings in the PGA.

The thing is, it wasn’t like this just a few years ago. Sure, the sports were still on, but not the entire time and we could carry on conversations before, after and during the games (with the one exception). The frequent yelling and profanity was reserved for big games and we could occasionally get the channel switched to something for the kids. I would settle for a happy medium as opposed to cutting the cord entirely, but the sports nuts aren’t willing to budge an inch and too many of the rest are worried about upsetting them to the point of causing permanent problems, so we’re stuck with having to shield the kids from the worst of the behavior while missing out on any sort of actual enjoyment and fellowship the bulk of the time.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
I think not.
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That’s what the power button is for.

For me, I will say, “How about those Cowboys!”

I love football, watching and playing. It is so much more involved then say, kickball, or football to the rest of the world. I have one rule though that I never break. Football never becomes more important than people. This means sometimes I can not watch, or have to use a DVR.

I know of one convent (cloistered at that) that watches the Spurs religiously (pardon the pun). The Superior makes sure that leisure is a part of their routine and this is one thing they do together.
satodayscatholic.com/043004_GoSpurs.aspx?print=Y
 
Gordon_Sims said:
I believe it’s turned into more of a sports addiction/obsession than just a mania for the home teams. We were shushed at one party not long ago because the recap of the day’s happenings in the LPGA was on. This was from people who can’t tell you the current standings in the PGA.

The thing is, it wasn’t like this just a few years ago. Sure, the sports were still on, but not the entire time and we could carry on conversations before, after and during the games (with the one exception). The frequent yelling and profanity was reserved for big games and we could occasionally get the channel switched to something for the kids. I would settle for a happy medium as opposed to cutting the cord entirely, but the sports nuts aren’t willing to budge an inch and too many of the rest are worried about upsetting them to the point of causing permanent problems, so we’re stuck with having to shield the kids from the worst of the behavior while missing out on any sort of actual enjoyment and fellowship the bulk of the time.
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I believe you. Maybe this is the work of getting a cable pkg with several 24-hr channels. It can give this compulsive habit of always having something on.
 
EasterJoy said:
I believe you. Maybe this is the work of getting a cable pkg with several 24-hr channels. It can give this compulsive habit of always having something on.
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I think there’s a little more to it than that. The collegiate frat boy binge drinking has followed a similar trajectory in my sphere of acquaintances. There’s definitely a correlation, but I think there’s a bit more to it. Whatever the case, it’s frustrating to be a part of.
 
Professional couch-sit sports are really a nihilistic thing: they never end, and they never really (admit it) matter.

They are diversions, and fun diversions at that.

I used to sit and watch football all day Sundays so I know a bit about what I’m talking about.

Get off the couch. Take a walk. Talk to your family. The more times you have a conversation, the better you are at making conversation.

I rather think people are afraid of their ability to talk with each other.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
I believe it’s turned into more of a sports addiction/obsession than just a mania for the home teams. We were shushed at one party not long ago because the recap of the day’s happenings in the LPGA was on. This was from people who can’t tell you the current standings in the PGA.

The thing is, it wasn’t like this just a few years ago. Sure, the sports were still on, but not the entire time and we could carry on conversations before, after and during the games (with the one exception). The frequent yelling and profanity was reserved for big games and we could occasionally get the channel switched to something for the kids. I would settle for a happy medium as opposed to cutting the cord entirely, but the sports nuts aren’t willing to budge an inch and too many of the rest are worried about upsetting them to the point of causing permanent problems, so we’re stuck with having to shield the kids from the worst of the behavior while missing out on any sort of actual enjoyment and fellowship the bulk of the time.
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So why do you go? 🤷
 
maryjk said:
So why do you go? 🤷
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At the functions where we know we don’t have to worry about the worst behavior we grin & bear it. We’ve cut out all the others. There’s more to it than the sports, but we reached a point where it wasn’t a healthy environment all around. In regards to the things we still attend, as I’ve been saying it would be nice to be able to go and have a normal degree of family interaction.
 
Gordon_Sims said:
At the functions where we know we don’t have to worry about the worst behavior we grin & bear it. We’ve cut out all the others. There’s more to it than the sports, but we reached a point where it wasn’t a healthy environment all around. In regards to the things we still attend, as I’ve been saying it would be nice to be able to go and have a normal degree of family interaction.
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It is not too much to hope that there is some way the family can gather without a TV: that is, a way that is not a wedding or a funeral.
 
Cat-I, respectfully, couldn’t disagree with you more about what you have posted on this topic.

I feel the men in my family use sports as a means to check out and not be involved-it is a control mechanism on their part-nothing is more important than football, not even their families. How hard is it for them to give up the game ONE day a year? It is not just this way on Thanksgiving–it is this way EVERY Sunday as well. Last I checked, these days were supposed to be given to the Lord, not to sports. Sports is a false god in our society, it really, really is.

The best gift you can give anyone is your time and I think it is selfish to spend a major holiday absorbed in something that is trivial…and yes, believe it or not, all sports are trivial. It is just entertainment, nothing more. You can use entertainment I suppose to bond with your family, but you cannot make it more important than your family.

I would never, never, never expect my father or my brothers to participate in something I was really interested in…just so we could spend time together. If I really wanted to spend time with them, I would give up my plans and be with them. It is just that simple.

Watching football is torture to me (and a lot of other people, too). I only have 24 hours in the day, and I don’t want to spend 4 hours of it watching men tackle each other.

Look, one day my father and my brothers are going to be gone…and all I can really say about them is that they really, really liked sports. They couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, every Sunday dinner to be over with so they could get back to watching sports on television.
 
You should think of it this way: someday your father will be gone, and your brothers will be have the memories of years of football games and bonding together. You will be absent from these memories because you couldn’t sacrifice 4 hours to try to spend time with your family. If they all want to watch football together, they shouldn’t have to give up the tradition just to talk to you. You should be the one to try to join in with the tradition.
 
Captain_America said:
Professional couch-sit sports are really a nihilistic thing: they never end, and they never really (admit it) matter.

They are diversions, and fun diversions at that.

I used to sit and watch football all day Sundays so I know a bit about what I’m talking about.

Get off the couch. Take a walk. Talk to your family. The more times you have a conversation, the better you are at making conversation.

I rather think people are afraid of their ability to talk with each other.
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Can’t someone like football and enjoy talking to their family and taking walks?

It has not been my experience that football fans are any more likely than anyone else to be afraid to talk meaningfully with others.
 
EasterJoy said:
It is not too much to hope that there is some way the family can gather without a TV: that is, a way that is not a wedding or a funeral.
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It actually is too much to ask. We had the family over for Christmas and then our one daughter’s Baptism several months later. We don’t have cable and one time we were between TV’s, the other we couldn’t get in whatever game was on. As a result, we’re not allowed to host family holiday gatherings anymore.
 
BlueEyedLady said:
You should think of it this way: someday your father will be gone, and your brothers will be have the memories of years of football games and bonding together. You will be absent from these memories because you couldn’t sacrifice 4 hours to try to spend time with your family. If they all want to watch football together, they shouldn’t have to give up the tradition just to talk to you. You should be the one to try to join in with the tradition.
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Do you really have a lot of fond memories of sitting on a couch watching a game together? I’m not being facetious. I have a handful of fond memories of important, memorable games, but how many games actually qualify for that? (And for the record, I’m not including games where you’re actually at the game. I believe that’s apples and oranges.) I can really only think of 3-4 football games and a dozen or so baseball games that we watched on TV that were really memorable. The average Sunday games are a blur at best.
 
It is possible to watch sports and converse. Yes, we do talk about sports while watching sports. On Thanksgiving, we (my husband’s family) all got into the curling Olympic trials. Which launched us into a conversation about what Olympic sports we like, etc. But we all didn’t sit around talking as one big group. We had different groups break apart, talk and then merge with others. I don’t talk to my husband’s one Uncle, because we just don’t get along. He doesn’t care about what i do, so i don’t talk to him, but we played canasta. Did we talk? No. Did we have a good time? Yes. But i hate going to the other sides family get togethers. his grandma always forces us to talk about things that i think are irrelevant or don’t want to talk about with her. I have a better bonding memory playing cards but not talking, then being forced to sit and talk when i would rather be doing something else. If they are so sports minded/competitive, could games be something that gets their attention? There are even sports based games (like the scene it sports edition). If they don’t want to be chatty (for whatever reason), change your approach to them. As for my husband’s grandmother, if i update/talk to her first right off the get go and distract her by pulling out card games,it is easier to get through. Pray that you will find a way to address the situation and that they will be open to one day of compromise. Because you can’t force people to change.
 
turtle18 said:
Cat-I, respectfully, couldn’t disagree with you more about what you have posted on this topic.

I feel the men in my family use sports as a means to check out and not be involved-it is a control mechanism on their part-nothing is more important than football, not even their families. How hard is it for them to give up the game ONE day a year? It is not just this way on Thanksgiving–it is this way EVERY Sunday as well. Last I checked, these days were supposed to be given to the Lord, not to sports. Sports is a false god in our society, it really, really is.

The best gift you can give anyone is your time and I think it is selfish to spend a major holiday absorbed in something that is trivial…and yes, believe it or not, all sports are trivial. It is just entertainment, nothing more. You can use entertainment I suppose to bond with your family, but you cannot make it more important than your family.

I would never, never, never expect my father or my brothers to participate in something I was really interested in…just so we could spend time together. If I really wanted to spend time with them, I would give up my plans and be with them. It is just that simple.

Watching football is torture to me (and a lot of other people, too). I only have 24 hours in the day, and I don’t want to spend 4 hours of it watching men tackle each other.

Look, one day my father and my brothers are going to be gone…and all I can really say about them is that they really, really liked sports. They couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, every Sunday dinner to be over with so they could get back to watching sports on television.
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It is something they enjoy together, and you believe it is trivial torture. It is nothing to you but men tackling each other, just entertainment. Sorry, but that is the kind of “opinion” that could tempt a person to excuse himself from you as a conversational partner at the first opportunity.

I have six brothers. I cannot imagine saying something like that and then saying “why don’t you want to talk to me, instead?” Why, so you can explain to them how stupid and pointless their other interests are, too?

You’d be better off if you agreed to let them explain the vast amount you don’t get about what interests them, with the deal that they will come and do something you like with you. Maybe if you did that, you’d have more to talk about and they might have less of a feeling that you’regoing to show contempt for topics they enjoy.
 
I don’t think the issue is that some folks don’t like football. It’s that we/they are frustrated by every minute of every family gathering being dominated by the games.

EasterJoy, I think you said it best - do we need to watch the game between the two bottom teams when they aren’t anyone’s “favorite”?

If a football fan came on and said, my family does nothing but watch home decorating shows at every gathering, I doubt anyone would be saying “Oh you just need to suck it up and watch with them.” :rolleyes:

I don’t think anyone is unwilling to watch a game during any particular family party, but when every gathering (that is supposedly focused on something else entirely) is taken over by televised sports, it’s reasonable to ask for suggestions on how to change that.
 
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