Why I love football

Football should be an easy game to understand. Run the ball, throw the ball, kick the ball, score. One hour and 12 minutes later the team with the most points wins. Not quite. Add players performing amazing feats of athleticism, players making errors, factor in rules and regulations, injuries, timeouts, commercials, and NOW you have a football game.

I grew up in New Jersey, following the Giants. The years my father and uncle had season tickets and neither wanted to use them, my sisters and I would go. Being at any game is a thrill; having had Dolphin season tickets I can say wearing shorts and a (Dolphin) T-shirt to a Miami game in December beats sitting all bundled up in the wind, cold, rain, and snow of a New Jersey winter at a Giants game. I learned the football basics watching alongside my father, and learned much more living with my first roommate after college, Debbie Murphy. Her brother played college football, and she knew a lot. We’d watch the Giants, the Eagles (her team), and if neither team was on TV, we’d cheer for the team with the cutest quarterback.

Understanding football makes watching the game much more enjoyable, and so does having a team to root for.