4 Benefits Of Being Married To A Diehard Sports Fan

I grew up in a sports family. All four of my siblings and I participated in most of the sports offered at our school, and if we weren't in a sport, we went and supported the team. But we didn't really watch that many sports on television. We watched college football on Saturdays if we were home, and we watched the pros on Sunday afternoons and Monday nights (again, this only occurred if we were actually home). We pretty much only watched basketball during March Madness and baseball during the World Series. My dad had his favorite teams, but he was never such a diehard that he couldn't miss a game. I didn't realize that other families weren't like ours. I knew that my husband was a sports fan and enjoyed playing and watching pretty much every sport; I thought this all seemed to be just like my family. Until I realized that he is a diehard Chicago Cubs & Iowa Hawkeye fan! I had no clue what I was in for, and I had no clue that I would benefit so much from it!

1. Increased Memory
          I thought the off season was the off season for fans, so I was shocked that he actually cared about who was being traded and drafted and how pre-season training was going. I was amazed that he was able to name all of the players on the team...I'm lucky to remember the names of all of the starters. And now I have a 10 year old son that is also able to show me up by not only naming every player on the team, but also being able to rattle off any positions they play and their game stats! I have to admit, it has made watching every game more exciting now that I get to see how crazed my son becomes over them, and my ability to memorize names and numbers has greatly improved thanks to my competitive nature...yes, I really want to be able to beat my own kid at a trivia battle.  

2. Becoming tech savvy
          I didn't realize that it was so important to see every game. This meant that when we first got married, I had to keep a stock of blank VCR tapes, so that we could record any games that we wouldn't be home to watch live. I became an expert in setting a VCR. The time had to be set correctly, the wires all had to be connected correctly, the tape had to be rewound and put in, and most importantly, I had to remember not to change the channel during the recording if I was home during game time. Thankfully the invention of the DVR has made all of this so much simpler, even more so now that I have learned how to program the DVR to give me access to all of our teams' games with the push of a button!

3. Being a gift giving expert
          Did you know that to a diehard fan has at least one of each item of clothing with their team on it? Yep, that's right...even socks and underwear are made with sports teams on them and the diehard owns these items! Good clothes are the newest team apparel that they own. I know that going out on a date night means that my husband will be adorning whatever new Hawkeye or Cubs shirt that he was last given or that he last bought. If we are going somewhere nice, a button-down shirt will be put on overtop of his t-shirt, but without a doubt the fan gear is still being worn. And Christmas Mass apparel will be his Hawkeye sweater and Hawkeye socks...because if it has been knitted, it is special occasion wear! However, there is a plus side to all of this; I know that if I ever need to get a gift for my wonderful man, all I have to do is pick up some new fan gear. Hello, easy shopping!!!

4. Super powers
          Oh, and of course I have been taught all about the things that we are allowed to talk about and the things that we aren't allowed to talk about because talking about things can and will undoubtedly directly impact the outcome of the game and/or season. Never and I mean never is one allowed to talk about a no-hitter...especially if it is a perfect game; this rule is overridden though if it is the opposing team's pitcher that is having said game. And if your team has a history of being "cursed" said curse is definitely off limits, as is any time a player is about to break a record and many, many other things (some of which I still forget that I'm not allowed to talk about).  I would have never guessed that I would be able to make a difference in a game that I am not playing in or even attending. But apparently, the universe has a way to curse your team if you even think about mentioning something. If only I had always known that I had such an incredible influence...now I just need to find a way to hone this super power to do more than just affect sporting events! 

I remember when I first realized that my husband was such a diehard fan; it was more than a little intimidating. And I would have never guessed that I would actually benefit from being married to a crazed die hard sports fan, yet now I know that I wouldn't change it for anything else in the world. Because while I am able to teach my husband things about faith and the benefits of being part of a church family, he has taught me some very special attributes of truly being an always loyal die hard sports fan!