Football fever

I don't claim to know much about football, or any sport for that matter, but that doesn't mean I am any less excited about the approaching NFL season. In fact, I have been looking forward to it for quite some time. And yes, I know not everyone chooses to root for the Colts like me, but I have made my peace with football fan reality. \nBesides, I know Manning, Harrison, Stokley and the rest of the boys will do their best, and that's all that matters, right? \nMy lack of knowledge about what exactly the referee means when he makes a certain hand movement doesn't detract from my love of the game, or the sweet and salty snacks that seem to be an NFL spectator staple. I don't know how old I was when I realized my special connection to football, but I can always remember cracking open that fresh bag of Original Lay's Potato Chips (the yellow bag) and claiming my spot on the couch to watch the kick-off. Even now, life seems a little incomplete if the first touchdown is made and I don't have potato chip grease coating my fingers. \nWhether it is the justified gluttonous junk food consumption or my romance with the gridiron that beckons me to football, I will never know, but I do know where I will be when the national anthem is sung for the first regular season game. \nNFL or not, I have come to appreciate the game as a whole. I can find interest in a casual game of touch football or even in a sometimes comical middle school game. Recently, I became a dance coach for the Jackson Creek Middle School Jaguars and during their first home game I profoundly became aware of my true affection for football. As hectic as coaching a group of adolescent girls can be, I was able to embrace what little downtime I had and enjoy the spectacle around me. In the few moments when I was a fan instead of an authority figure, I was shocked at the young players' proficiency. The players scored touchdowns, opposing quarterbacks were sacked and passes were widely received. \nIt was like watching mini-NFL without the Budweiser commercials. I was so proud of the home team, even though I had nothing to do with its victory. I felt a glow of smugness wash over me as I watched the opposing team of losers retreat to the loser's bench.\nI guess I feel the same pride when the Colts complete a pass or otherwise successfully execute a play. I have never been one to gloat, but it seems as though a more arrogant version of myself boldly enters the world during a football game. \nI am not proud of my Mrs. Hyde counterpart, nor do I condone other such behavior. But it is a characteristic I must live with. Until I can mature beyond such petty displays of competition, all I can say for the impending NFL season is, let the games begin.