Fantasy Football

Now don't get excited
It isn't your normal fantasy
or your version of Fantasy Football

It is my Football Fantasy

My daddy watched football all the time
Sunday afternoons are still not "normal"
without the sounds
of a football game
on the "boob toob"
which is what he called the tv
I guess that phrase always escaped my understanding
anyway,
I know how a football game is played
I understand
first and 10
off sides
line of scrimmage
4th and goal
shotgun formation
forward pass
snapping the ball
interception
a flag is down
illegal holding

and this year
I started not just listening
or watching a game here and there
but watching nearly every Sunday

My favorite team isn't playing well
at all
My least favorite team is having
a great year

I have to throw my own yellow flag

What is this shit?
there is a line on the screen
that shows the line of scrimmage
and a line showing where
they need to be for a first down
and then an arrow
showing what direction the ball is moving
and the color for team who has possession
and states the down and yardage needed

Fuck, the muse and I have discussed
how the game of football
as if it weren't simple enough
has been dumbed down
for any one to watch
women no longer will be fussed at
for asking questions
young children can learn the game so much
easier
to the relief of parents everywhere
who don't know the game well enough
to teach it to their children

Now, don't blast me for discussing
the American Public
as if they are illiterate
but I do have an issue
with the DUMBING DOWN
of our society

and this is a perfect example.

Let's forget teaching Math,
game strategy, how to watch a game
with an eagle eye
to see each play

Let's let the networks
tell us what is happening
so we don't have to pay attention
so we can just watch the commercials
esp. during the biggest game of the year

and today,

Today my youngest son is home
just for a couple of days,
and tomorrow morning I send him
on his way
in the big world
but today
he has chosen to be
a Dallas Cowboy fan
like his father

and he turned on the game
and I could tell
instantaneously
he don't know
how to play the game
or watch it

As a teacher
I know to use all the aids
I can
to teach a subject
and my child
is being taught the game
by me
and is using the
ridiculous cues
on the screen
to keep up with what is going on
with the game.
Of course
I have heard

"why do they skip the 2nd down?"

uh... they didn't....

and then I explain further


If I was wanting to watch
the Boys play
I could understand
the frustration men feel
when someone (maybe a woman)
is asking about what just happened
or how to understand the game.

My daddy did teach me well
and now I am continuing the tradition
and teaching my son about
America's Game.