This season, I am going to be providing stats for Thursday Night Lights and writing articles for www.TexasHSFootball.comand www.SAsports.com. Yeah, I am going to busy, but I don’t mind because I am extremely passionate about high school football.
I do happen to know somebody who minds and would prefer me not to be busy from the last week in August till the week before Christmas on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. That person is my wife and this will be her 9th high school football season with me. I actually call her a “football widow.”
This is what I THINK of how my wife feels about me being a high school football statistician and writer. And this is what I really think.
We met at Washington Mutual Bank (where we both worked) in 2007. I knew that he was a high school football statistician…he talked about it every day. Kinda hard to ignore that. That wasn’t his pick-up line! No, he didn’t take me on a date to a high school football game…that would’ve been very awkward and probably a good reason for immediate dumping!
At the time, I didn’t understand how prevalent high school football is in TX culture. Being a recent transplant, and having attended a school that was too small to even have a football team, let alone a band, I did think it was strange that a grown man should be so interested in watching teenagers run around in extracurricular activities. I still don’t understand the expense, time and energy spent on this one activity above all others but I do know that Mark is extremely interested in it and as I utterly adore him, it’s not hard to support his passion.
Please don’t send me diatribes about how football is the best and I’m wrong. I understand it’s a big deal and there are many passionate fans. To me, it’s an extracurricular activity. I’m all for spending money on athletics. And making sure students are well nourished and well-rounded. Arts education anyone? Tutoring to ensure all students understand their math and science classes? I used to go to school hungry and it’s not fun or conducive to good learning.
I have attended a few games with him (but it was after we were married) and drove him to Alamo and Lehnhoff stadium for renovation pictures—I really really like him and it gave me more time to spend with him. I have to tell you a secret…Mark is very fun to hang out with.
I DO really really like Mark! I found it very loud and full of manly manliness in the booths at radio games, so I tended to avoid them. Now that Mark is writing more, I plan to attend some games with him, where we can sit outside and I can ask him lots of questions and bug him through the whole game. But that will be when it’s a little cooler.
During that 2007 season, he was telling me he had a game at Smithson Valley stadium and that several years ago, he got pulled over by a Sheriff’s officer at Smithson Valley after a game for making an illegal u-turn. He told me when he exited the stadium, there was a right arrow that said New Braunfels and a left arrow for San Antonio but you could only make a right turn. He was very concerned about getting lost because it is very dark. Since I lived near Smithson Valley, I gave him my phone number and said call me if you are lost and I will guide you to safety. He never did call me so I guess he made it home OK.
I guess he made it home…he never did call me that night. I did wait up just in case. What he didn’t tell you is that I was too shy to give him my number in person, so I emailed him.
Once football starts, it is very hard to get him to do anything unless it revolves around high school football! He has a full-time job in addition to being a statistician and writer. I don’t know how he juggles everything on his plate without ever complaining. I try my best to make sure he has enough to eat so he doesn’t starve on game days. I know he is a mature adult (most of the time) and he can feed himself at games with popcorn and hot dogs, but why should he have to do that? That is my job, isn’t it? If I was working evenings, he would do the same thing for me…we take care of each other.
It’s true, when I work late he has supper waiting for me. He does get exhausted and so I do hear “I’m tired” a lot, but it’s justifiable. What he doesn’t tell you is that on a game day he leaves the house at 6:30AM, works all day, goes directly from work to a game, works three to four hours more at the game and drives home, often an hour or more, only to need a few minutes to decompress and eat. Then bed about 11:30 or midnight and up again the next day at six to do it all again. Then when he is home he’s constantly working on his articles, planning his schedule, reading Twitter about other games, etc. He’s consumed by football for months each year and I often get to see him for just a couple of hours on Sunday afternoons, after his nap and before supper and an early bed.
Hey, he does have his priorities straight…he takes the weekend off from football for our anniversary which just happens to be smack dab in the middle of football season and our annual vacation usually takes place after Thanksgiving and that means he misses some very important playoff football games. I really appreciate him doing that.
Yes, he missed two whole games so we could get married! And we like to take our vacation the week after Thanksgiving because: 1) It’s a little cheaper since there was so much traveling the week before it’s a less popular time to go; and 2) That’s when Mark’s parents go and we all go together. Fortunately we generally get along well and have a good time. I don’t hear any complaining about missing an important game that night from my hubby when we’re eating and swimming and napping on a cruise.
Yes, I miss him dearly on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights but this is something he loves to do and I don’t want to interfere with his passion. He is so adorable when he comes home from the games…he tells me what happened and shows me pictures (I don’t really care, but I listen and look).
I do miss him. Fortunately I have lots to do; we moved less than a year ago and I still have a lot of painting & etc. to do in our house. I’m slow but I get there eventually. He really is so excited when he gets home and it’s wonderful to see him so happy about his work. He shows me all his pictures and tells me the highlights of the game. I do care, because he’s my CB and if it’s important to him, it’s important to me. So I try to follow his descriptions and ask interesting questions. But if I’ve heard the same story too many times, I do threaten to give him a tutorial in the different fibers of my favorite yarns.
I know he misses me because I get several texts throughout the game with my favorite one saying, “Leaving now, be home in about an hour.”
When he writes, I try not to bother him but I am not always successful!
Well, sometimes one simply craves attention from one’s spouse and if doing a hula-dance for him is distracting, at least it works!
