It’s Super Bowl Sunday. Which, to me, means it’s much like any other Sunday out of the year. I did not watch the game today. I don’t really remember if I watched the game last year. I couldn’t tell you who won the past few super bowls. I definitely don’t have a favorite team. And, even though I played football growing up, I only have a loose understanding of how the game works in general.
My friends are the only reason I have watched any football at all in my adult life. They’re probably the biggest reason I have stayed interested in sports in general.
I doubt that I would have any interest in soccer or basketball without my friends. And, I only use the term “soccer” since that is the preferred American nomenclature for the sport. And, no, that does not make sense to me at all. Almost every other popular sport involving a ball is named based on the goal that is achieved by the players. In baseball, the players run bases. In basketball, the players make baskets.
Yeah, maybe it’s a short sighted and tired point that has been made before. But, I’m making it again. If you want the actual answer to this oft-repeated question go here.
Back to football and my friends:
I think the perfect example of why I only really care about camaraderie and rivalry, when it comes to football, was the 2012 Super Bowl. Patriots vs. Giants.
My buddy Colin invited me over to watch the game. Camaraderie.
He grew up in Boston, so he was rooting for the Patriots. I decided to root for New York. Rivalry.
Here’s the thing, though…I saw NY on the score board and thought it was the Jets. I know New York has a team called the Jets, and, again, I have no care as to which team is actually playing the game. I’m just trying to rile up my buddy.
I think out of entertainment, rivalry, and a hint of spite, my buddy Colin let me root and rally out loud for the Jets for awhile. Around half time, he took pity and informed me that the team I was rooting for had been out of the season for quite some time, and that it was in fact the Giants who were playing. So, in true game day spirit I replied, “ALRIGHT!!! Here we go Giants!!!”
Funny enough, the Giants won…