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Fall and football - what more could one ask for?
Nise's Notes
By Denise Schoppe
The Marlin Democrat
August 25, 2004
School has started and there is a new crispness in the morning air. The sun goes down earlier and everyone speaks a little softer. If you listen closely, you can hear the strains of instruments tuning, hands clapping and helmets clashing. It’s that wonderful time of the year — football season.
Fall is without a doubt my favorite season of the year. The feel of the air, the crops being harvested, the approaching holidays, and the weekends full of gridiron action.
Football is one part politics, one part religion and one part everything else.
This is an election year, and just as the Democrats and Republicans are sizing each other up, so are all the various teams checking up on one another. And like election day, two opponents will go head-to-head in hopes of coming out the victor.
Many fans take game day as seriously as they take any political rivalry. Money is spent to support their team. Mudslinging ensues. Rivals look for any weakness in the opposing team to exploit. It can get messier than Watergate and White Water put together!
Football is also as big of a religion as Baptist, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. There are people who attend games more often than they attend church. The stadium IS their church, and they worship at the mascot idol. The endzone is their alter. The head coach is god and the team his disciples.
I wish I were speaking entirely tongue-in-cheek.
Football is also one part everything else. There is pain. There is joy. There is accomplishment. There is failure. There are lessons learned. There are mindless pranks played. There are friendships to be made. There are rivalries to battle.
It is said that America’s favorite past time is baseball. But for me, its all about the action on on the football field. I’m easily swept up in not only the game itself, but also in the energy of the crowd.
The roar of the crowd, the band played the fight song, and the hush that falls over everyone when a player is injured. The smell of hot dogs, nachos, dust and sweat mixed with the ache in my legs and stinging of my hands brings all my senses into the moment.
I’ll admit that I have often gone to games not to watch the game itself, but the visit with friends. There are few events that rival football’s ability to bring so many people together in one place for that length of time.
I am ready for that first kickoff and each game following it. As the season progresses, the temperatures will continue to drop and the days will grow shorter. In direct contrast, tempers will rise and the tall tales will grow longer.
I love fall, and I love football season. Bring it on.
Nise's Notes
By Denise Schoppe
The Marlin Democrat
August 25, 2004
School has started and there is a new crispness in the morning air. The sun goes down earlier and everyone speaks a little softer. If you listen closely, you can hear the strains of instruments tuning, hands clapping and helmets clashing. It’s that wonderful time of the year — football season.
Fall is without a doubt my favorite season of the year. The feel of the air, the crops being harvested, the approaching holidays, and the weekends full of gridiron action.
Football is one part politics, one part religion and one part everything else.
This is an election year, and just as the Democrats and Republicans are sizing each other up, so are all the various teams checking up on one another. And like election day, two opponents will go head-to-head in hopes of coming out the victor.
Many fans take game day as seriously as they take any political rivalry. Money is spent to support their team. Mudslinging ensues. Rivals look for any weakness in the opposing team to exploit. It can get messier than Watergate and White Water put together!
Football is also as big of a religion as Baptist, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. There are people who attend games more often than they attend church. The stadium IS their church, and they worship at the mascot idol. The endzone is their alter. The head coach is god and the team his disciples.
I wish I were speaking entirely tongue-in-cheek.
Football is also one part everything else. There is pain. There is joy. There is accomplishment. There is failure. There are lessons learned. There are mindless pranks played. There are friendships to be made. There are rivalries to battle.
It is said that America’s favorite past time is baseball. But for me, its all about the action on on the football field. I’m easily swept up in not only the game itself, but also in the energy of the crowd.
The roar of the crowd, the band played the fight song, and the hush that falls over everyone when a player is injured. The smell of hot dogs, nachos, dust and sweat mixed with the ache in my legs and stinging of my hands brings all my senses into the moment.
I’ll admit that I have often gone to games not to watch the game itself, but the visit with friends. There are few events that rival football’s ability to bring so many people together in one place for that length of time.
I am ready for that first kickoff and each game following it. As the season progresses, the temperatures will continue to drop and the days will grow shorter. In direct contrast, tempers will rise and the tall tales will grow longer.
I love fall, and I love football season. Bring it on.
