A holiday from the holidays

The holiday season has come to an end, or has it? For my sweetheart, Pam, the real holidays are just beginning and last for almost eight months of the year. You see, I’m a college football fanatic. Not just a fan, but a real fanatic.

I love college football. As far as I’m concerned it is far and away the second-best game in the land, or the world for that matter. And yes, I know that soccer, to some people, is the world’s sport. I can watch soccer, especially when my children played the game, and now my grandchildren, however, for me, it’s not the world’s best sport. Sorry, soccer fans.

The number one sport for me? Pickleball, a new sport that I recently started playing since moving to St. George, Utah. A great game for young old people like me. Keeps you active and moving, improves the eye-hand coordination, increases the mental processes, and frankly, is just a lot of fun to play.

But back to college football. I love the energy, the fast pace, the intricacies, the competition, and the game’s rivalries.

No, I don’t watch professional football. I don’t find the same level of excitement or enthusiasm in the games. To me, professional football is a tiresome business venture dressed up as a sport. But, that’s just my opinion.

The fact is, I watch a lot of college football on television during the season and absolutely love the bowl games. I watch every game and I enjoy every game. But not my poor sweetie. She suffers through the season and doubly suffers through the bowl games. She can’t wait for them to end and the holiday from football to begin.

That she tolerates my addiction with just the occasional comment (or two, or three) is just one of the many reasons why I love her so much. She puts up with a lot being married to me and having a college football fanatic as a husband is not an easy life.

You see, she’s the complete opposite. She hates football. I mean she—really—hates—football. She sees absolutely no sense in the game and as the saying goes, “endures to the very end,” of the college football season and prays, literally, for the bowl games to quickly end.

I guess that’s one of the definitions of true love, you accept your loved one’s faults and failings and still love the person and . . . endure.