my first season as an NFL fan

There are so few words that can truly describe what a football heart break feels like. Well I had my very first tonight, when my poor Denver Broncos were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens in double overtime in the most stressful game of football I've watched this year.  

I am new to football; in the last few years I have slowly payed enough attention while working in a sports bar and hanging out with my husband and his buddies on Sundays to gain an appreciation for professional football. I was the girl who hated the sound of the game while working a Sunday morning at the bar. I just didn't see it clearly.

 Well, hubby and I decided to move away from our home town, and fly the colors orange and blue in new place, in San Diego. When Kris first said to me, "Boston is my only football buddy now," I instantly felt that I had to make the effort to fill the position, although I had big shoes to fill.

We got into a routine watching the Broncos play; on Sunday mornings at Guava Beach Grill- a great DENVER bar full of you guessed it- Coloradans, Monday nights at the laundromat, last minute runs to a near by hooters because our game wasn't on regular cable. The fact that our dog gets pumped to put on his human sized jersey when we say "Broncos?" is a sure sign that we loved our game day routine.  Sundays became a holiday, I never picked up shifts or asked to work so that the day could begin with breakfast, which I got so good at, and rearranging all other plans around the game itself.
I also started engaging in being united to our friends at home by celebrating wins and bragging about our favorite players on facebook, texts, and game day phone calls. We even had friends fly out and join us at the Chargers home game against the Broncos in October- yeah the one where we were down 24 in the first half, and came back and pummeled them in the second half. The best part was having tons of Denver fans handing out high fives on the way to get a cab, we certainly weren't lonely.

Another great thing that came out of my recent love of football was my ability to speak to my bar guests, guy friends, and even my dad on a whole new level. At any point I could instantly begin a conversation with someone about football and it generates hours of things to talk about. Via text, I watched the games with my dad, that brought us closer together when we have been so far apart for the first time.

When it comes down to it, we were pretty heart broken, our chance at the superbowl is gone and now we will have to find something else to occupy our Sundays until next season. Yet I feel like I have gained so much more out of football than just entertainment, I have pride in my team that kept me in the loop with friends and family back home, I can go to a game or to Guava and feel like I am at home, I have a new activity to enjoy with my husband, I make more money during football games at work, the list goes on and on. But one thing is for sure, I am officially a football fan.