Recently, Lyndsey and I survived the first true test of our relationship. I believe marriage is forever, and am now condfident that I have chosen wisely (I knew it the whole time!). My wife passed the test with flying colors.
The test I speak of is football season. I might not have been the best football player growing up, but like most Texans, a deep love of football runs deep in my veins. Many women fail to understand the emotion, excitement, and outright suspense that no other sport seems to provide, complete with super star catches/throws and monster hits! With the Cowboys done (put a fork in them), and college football officially over after last night, I can safely say that the season is done for all intensive purposes (with the exception of playoffs and Super Bowl).
At my rehearsal dinner for the wedding, I had a cake of an Aggie bonfire and explained to our closest friends and family that I had missed (then) three of the past four football seasons due to deployments. Because of this, this season in particular was destined to be particularly painful for Lyndsey, as describing me as an addict to both college and NFL would be an understatement (at least I wasn't in a fantasy league this year; then it would have been Lyndsey's gauntlet of pure hell!). This season had meaning because I have been waiting for years for renewed hope in the Aggies as I get scores 3 days late via email since there was no way to listen to or watch the game. Alas, this season is over.
What does this mean for Lyndsey? It means I will no longer be sustaining myself with chicken strips, beer, burned sweet potato fries, and tostados every Saturday and Sunday. We might even have time to go on a date every now an then (we did before, only on Fridays :). It means she doesn't have to listen to me talking to guys at church about football, or suffer through embarrassing arguments that inevitably happen living in DC between Redskin's fans and a born and raised Dallas, Texan. And finally, it means the endless "simulations" using the most high tech equipment currently available to me will end (by that I mean X-Box NCAA 2011 and Madden). The equipment isn't perfect though, as it predicted a score of 77-13 in the A&M vs. LSU game on the top difficulty, with A&M coming out on top. At some point though, I have to start working on season 2011; for now though, I'll consider slowing down.
It's time to update the Netflix cue. With all this free time, Lyndsey will want me to listen to her (not that I didn't before, but the commentary from the experts on ESPN and FoxSports is pretty important!). Texags.com will no longer see me hit their site multiple times each day (probably only once or twice a week to keep up with offseason recruiting), and bleacherreporter.com will probably not even automatically load when I start typing the web address into the browser. Our fridge's beer supply will start to dwindle or skunk, as my only real excuse to consume 2-3 in one sitting is no longer around. Life is about to change to something it was always intended to be.... in the offseason.
Until late August, this is my life. I will be going to Michael's and Bed, Bath, and Beyond on the weekends, cutting coupons for the grocery, and going through the piles of crap that have accumulated on our bar since I brought Lyndsey back here in September. Basketball and hockey are just okay, but baseball and football are king.
If anyone needs me, call the cell phone; I'll probably need a break from carrying bags in Macy's and Nordstrom's....
