Sunday, January 23, 2011

We Won?

 
Tonight was really upsetting to me.  I am a huge Steelers fan.  And the Steelers won.

Yup.  You heard me right.

I wasn’t always a Steelers fan.  In fact, I wasn’t ever a fan of anyone.  Truth be told...football and I have a very sketchy past.

I went to high school football games because I usually knew someone on the team.  Never because I was a football fan.

I had a great friend in high school (who was also on the football team) who would spoil me with amazing seats to Broncos games.  I stood up when he stood up.  I booed when he did.

And all that time he probably never had any clue that I didn’t know what was going on.

About two years into my marriage, I was watching football with my husband (the Steelers fan) and another couple (Packers fans).  The Steelers were on the forth down no where near the goal.

And I stood up.  And cheered.

There was a dead silence as everyone turned around and stared at me.  At which point I said, “Forth down.  That’s good.  Right??”

My husband looked at me and said, “Do you mean that you’ve been sitting here for years and you don’t even know how this game is played?”

No.  Wait.  Awkward moment.

Then I replied, meekly, “No?”

The room erupted.  Suddenly everyone was around the dining room table with Chex Mix and Cheez Whiz trying to diagram a football field and explain to me why a forth down wasn’t something to cheer about.

It seems dumb that I’m telling this story now.  I think I’m just trying to relive it for me a little.  Maybe I find it odd that the girl who watched football for 22 years without knowing what the hell was going on...should find herself so invested in it now.

My husband’s team played tonight.  They played and they won.  I probably could have given a shit about it when he was alive (which I feel bad about) but I take it personally now.

I want them to win.  I want them to win because I know it would have made him happy.

But when they win I wish so much he could be here to see it.  I wish that he could be here talking shit with his roommate from college (I just don’t do it as well.  After the first half I felt bad for them.  I thought about it later and my husband would have been rubbing salt in those wounds).

I want to hear him yell.  Hear him laugh.  Hear him use inappropriate language in front of my kids on the phone.

They won, B.

They’re going to the Superbowl.

Am I the only one who gets so sad about a winning football team?



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© Catherine Tidd 2011

8 comments:

  1. My husband was a HUGE Packers fan, his best friend, Steelers all the way. I was sad tonite thinking what a great time they'd be having talking smack about each others' teams..and what a Superbowl party it would be. I completely get what you're feeling. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. As a surprise for my husband I bought him and his brother tickets to see a Steelers game. Living in Los Angeles, we hardly ever got to watch them play. I would have loved to have seen his face when I told him. I can only imagine it...I never got to tell him my surprise because he passed away the day I got him the tickets. I went to the game last year and was heart broken. But felt so close to him at Heintz field. I am a Steeler fan because of him and will always be! We'll always have that connection with our husbands and like you thought of him often tonight. Something was missing for me during tonights game. Thank you for your story... nice to hear that I'm not the only one that has this emotions during Steeler games.

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  3. My husband was also a huge Steeler's fan. I watched the game today with the kids in tribute. Our 4 year old son stood vigil the ENTIRE game...while myself and my 11 year old daughter and I came in and out on a few occasions. He would come and tell us that something had just happened. I too didn't really pay attention but was happy when he would hoot and holler and be nervous swinging the terrible towel and donning a jersey and a cap. And he had rituals that were okay to do and some that were not okay to do to make sure they would win. He had tickets to a game last year in PA....We live in WA State....it would have been the second one he would get to see there with his best friend...Steeler's fans are a minority over here. :) I had to cancel that flight after he died. We were happy they won....but there was no whooping and hollering, no fever of excitement as there would have been. Just sort of an empty something...but I'm glad we watched.

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  4. My husband Eddie was a life long Steeler fan. He was born and raised in San Antonio and took a lot for not being a fan of "The Boys" form Dallas. When Eddie died in "09 all his teams won their Championships...The Steelers, Lakers and Longhorns. For his veiwing he wore a steeler jersey #43. Polomolu was his favorite player and Eddie was only 43 years old. Last Novemeber, Eddie's sister went to Pittsburgh for her 1st ever game(she is also a steeler fan) she took some of Eddie's ashes and spread them on the sideline of Heinz Field. Eddie never got to see a live game before he died. And had I known cancer would take him so young I would have done whatever it took to get him there. Last nights game was great and he will always have a great seat from now on. But I cried last night because he should have been here watching with me, explaining like he used to. Now I have had to learn the game better because he is not here to help me.I wear his Steeler wear so that it never gets dusty, but he should be wearing it. Bittersweet.

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  5. Ladies, thank you for sharing your stories. The Steelers are my team. My husband wasn't a sports fan and I only watch the games at playoff times, but I so understand where you are coming from. I'm even prouder now that the Steelers won last night. Roll on Super Bowl so the Steelers can send Green Bay packing and there will be joy in heaven!

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  6. LOL!! So true Toni! It sounds like there will be a LOT of joy in heaven, based on these comments. Thanks guys. :>)

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  7. Nelson would have been rooting for the Jets, as a New Yorker. New York has a million teams, you know? The year the Giants won the Superbowl, I was cheering for them with him. This year I just found myself thinking I should be rooting for the Jets...he wasn't that into football, but he did watch playoff games. I ended up not watching. It just made me sad...

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  8. My husband, Joel, was a Giants, Jets, Yankees, Mets fan - anything NY, the older team over the "newer" team. On my frig, I have a piece of paper on which I wrote, "I miss the smell of little hot dogs, and yellow mustard, and the sounds of a baseball game on TV." I have one of Joel's friends keep me apprised of important Yankees news, I tried to watch (but found it as boring as I did when he was alive, to be perfectly honest), and pay attention to box scores. Our family saw the Yankees play at the new stadium the June before Joel died in Dec. Glad we got that lucky...

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