Football is Like Life...

Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority. ~ Vince Lombardi

Uncle N was helping me teach the boys football last night.  Well he was actually just attempting to play catch with them. I viewed it as an important lesson though.  Sunday was the FIRST football game I have actually been able to watch this season, so far the boys don't share my love of watching the game.  They prefer the Bubble Guppies, Super Why, and Bob the Builder to the Green Bay Packers.  I'm beginning to wonder if they are really even mine. I jumped on the opportunity for someone else making football seem fun.  The rundown: catching skills leave a lot to be desired, aim is improving...attention span is not.

We can't run.  We can't pass.  We can't stop the run.  We can't stop the pass.  We can't kick.  Other than that, we're just not a very good football team right now. ~ Bruce Coslet

The Toddler has raised my hopes and then dashed my dreams of raising a future quarterback.  I tried to teach him the diamond method to prepare for catching, but this lead to him concentrating too hard on the shape his fingers were making as opposed to keeping his eyes on the ball. We'll call that a failed lesson, but one we will come back to at a later time. His aim started to improve and he actually came close to a spiral a few times.  However, he became too busy to continue playing catch, as he decided to have a tea party and then skip through the living room watering his imaginary flower garden.  The game was interrupted a few times for us all to have tea and smell the flowers.  I love his imagination, in fact normally I encourage it...I really do...but how do tea and flowers trump football?

The Big D was more into it, but would get sidetracked after throwing the ball.  He kept catching sight of and then subsequently remembering all the cool tractors at Grandma's house. I would direct his focus back by handing him the football and he would happily throw it. Then I  stood behind him and put his arms out and help him catch the ball.  He would clap and cheer for himself, excitement is good!  Left on his own though,  the arms remained outstretched and never moved until after the ball smacked him in the face and dropped to the ground.  After a while he became a bit lazy and just sat on my lap.  I will give him a break though, he got back up to throw the ball again...he is a bit clumsy and also got sacked a few times.

This all means one thing....footballs for Christmas!

If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score? ~ Vince Lombardi

Superbowl Sunday

I have been a fan of the Green Bay Packers since I was 3 years old, and I have not wavered in my fan hood (expect for in junior high when I wanted an Eagles jacket because I didn't want the same coat as my sister).  I was still a Green Bay fan, but I also had nothing against the Eagles and liked their colors, I adopted them as a team I could cheer for unless they were playing my team.

My father doesn't like sports and hates football, my mom loves all sports and is a Steelers fan.  However, because my Great Grandma used to babysit Jerry Kramer (played for the Packers in the '60s) many locals were fans and didn't discourage my love of the Cheeseheads...but even with that neat little tie in, that was not how I picked my team.  Ole Rolandson owned a John Deere dealership and I thought he was the coolest person in the world, he shared hero status with only my Grandpa Coleman and my father.  When I rode along with dad on a parts run, Ole would let me sit on the JD lawnmowers and pretend to drive, and he would hit the vending machine hard with his fist and hand me a free pop.  The vending machine was old and still had the glass bottles that you had to drink the pop at the store and put the empty bottle back in crate, where the bottles would be washed and re-used.  But I digress, I loved the Packers because their colors were green and yellow the same as  John Deere's colors...and I was convinced that Ole owned them both.

My son is destined to be a Packers fan as well, I am determined of this....and after 13 years my team made it to the Superbowl so I did the only natural thing....I threw a Superbowl Party! 

I dressed my little man head to toe in Packers gear, minus the Cheesehat Eric wouldn't let me order for him. 

I made super nachos, bacon wrapped lil' smokies, shrimp crescent rollups, chips and 4 kinds of dip, virgin margaritas (the pregnant lady doesn't provide alcohol) fruit cups, pop & juice.

Josh helped me clean house and then decorate for the party...Our styles are a bit different however, he did have fun unraveling the roll of toilet paper and covering our whole house in it.

The party was a success, and with a Green Bay victory our house was a happy place last Sunday.  Josh paid no attention to the game what so ever, but loved going around bumming food and dancing to the music during half time. 

God, Family, and Football ~ Vince Lombardi