It’s fourth-and-five at the goal line.
The San Francisco 49ers are down 29 to 34 with under two minutes left to play and no timeouts. It’s all or nothing for the Niners. The Baltimore Ravens’ defense makes sure it’s nothing. The clock runs out and the Ravens are Super Bowl champions.
As I watched the confetti fall, I shook my head and realized it’s over. Not just the Super Bowl, the NFL has come to an end for 2013. With college football ending nearly a month prior, this marks the official end of football season.
How will I live?
Every Sunday—plus Monday, Wednesday and Saturday—for the last six months has revolved around watching America’s new favorite past time. When the games weren’t on, I was listening, watching and/or reading football news. The sport consumes a Texas-sized chunk of my falls and winters.
Now when I leave church, all I have is the occasional NBA game to watch on Sundays. As much as I love the NBA, Sundays just aren’t the same without God and football. They’re like salt and pepper. Technically, there is no relation but regardless they are typically experienced within close proximity to each other. At least on Sundays.
On the bright side, I have ample time to do homework in the offseason. Ha, offseason. It sounds funny saying that like I have a job that is related to football and now is my time off. That goes hand-in-hand with fans saying “we” when referring to their teams.
Anyway, I feel my grades always improve in the spring. Without devoting my Monday afternoons and post-church Sundays to football, I gain about 18 extra hours.
I’d like to lie and say those are all used for academics during the spring, but it’s usually the time when I’m nailing game winning shots in Dwayne Wade’s face. Well, not me, but me controlling Kobe Bryant on NBA 2k.
The offseason is also when I rediscover the lost hobby of reading. I’m always impressed by how many good books there are to read when I’m not ingesting football like my life depends on it.
I always vow to read more in the fall and winter and cut back on watching football. However that seems as likely as the Dallas Cowboys winning another playoff game.
One day, Romo, one day.
