It's the Super Bowl: Do you know where your team is?
The Super Bowl is this weekend. Do you know where your team is?
Yeah, me too.
Bummer.
I used to hate sports as a kid. I have no eye-hand coordination to speak of and the kids in my neighborhood were athletic and prone to cheating. So if a ball was involved, I wasn’t.
Then came the Super Bowl between the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys in 1977. Living just north of Denver and having a rabid fan for a father, I got caught up in the excitement. I watched the Super Bowl. It was the first football game I ever watched. Two things happened to me that day. I became a Broncos fan for life. And I became a Cowboys hater – for life.
A couple years later I was attending Faith Baptist School in Longmont, Colo. The coach there made me go out for football since I was the biggest kid in junior high. It was only eight-man flag football, but I had a great time. I nurtured a love for the game and went on to be an all-state bench warmer for Niwot High. That’s what happens when you’re a 5-10, 150-pound lineman (dripping wet in pads). I also played behind two guys who eventually earned all-district honors at center (one was a year behind me).
My love of the game grew through college. As a journalist, I photographed every single home football game at Adams State College my four years there. And I won a few awards for the effort.
My parents eventually became season ticket holders for the Broncos. I have seen 21 of the 32 NFL teams play live. I’ve photograph a couple of NFL games, as well as some United States Football League and World League of American Football games.
It’s now that time of year when I usually get excited about the big game. It’s been hard to do that for a few years, and this year is no exception. I don’t care for either team, though I’d like to see the Arizona Cardinals pull it off.
While I will always first and foremost be a Broncos fan, I am taking a liking to the Houston Texans. I’ve followed the team from afar from the start. I became more interested when Gary Kubiak was hired as coach and brought a boatload of Bronco castoffs with him. Now I live here and feel an even closer connection. In fact, I’ve already developed that optimistic attitude that lingers in the hearts of all Texan fans – just wait’ll next year!
In the meantime, there is a meaningless championship game to be played followed by a long off-season called “baseball.”
I got my first taste of the major leagues while living in Minnesota in the late 1980s. The year I went to my first game was the year the Twins won it all. From then on I was hooked. I’ve still got a soft sport for the Twinkies, but my first love is the Rockies. I even worked for them briefly as a ticket-taker between journalism jobs. I’ve seen 21 or so of the teams play. I lost count when I was working for the Rockies. I saw lots of baseball that summer.
I don’t know that I can warm up to the Astros, but my wife has to a degree (but she was born in Houston). I hope to see a game or two this summer, especially when the Rockies come to town.
I know there are other sports out there, some of them even professional, like “basketball.” I’ve been to one NBA game. I wasn’t impressed. I had more fun watching the Harlem Globetrotters.
Hockey has been even harder to watch. The first game I saw on TV was the final game of the Stanley Cup a few years ago when the Colorado Avalanche won it all. I went to my first live game last season to watch the Amarillo Gorillas play. That was OK, but hard to follow when you don’t know much about the game.
My children like going to baseball games. They’re not much into football – yet. I’ve still got time to convert them. I doubt they’ll take the time to watch the Super Bowl this weekend. It’s just as well. When you don’t care about the teams that are playing, ad-watching becomes the name of the game. Last year was a let-down, but who knows what will happen this year.
I’m hoping for a few laughs, a close game, a Cardinal victory and perhaps some bonding time with my sons.
In the meantime, my team is in the same place as yours – in front of the TV watching someone else play.
Yeah, me too.
Bummer.
I used to hate sports as a kid. I have no eye-hand coordination to speak of and the kids in my neighborhood were athletic and prone to cheating. So if a ball was involved, I wasn’t.
Then came the Super Bowl between the Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys in 1977. Living just north of Denver and having a rabid fan for a father, I got caught up in the excitement. I watched the Super Bowl. It was the first football game I ever watched. Two things happened to me that day. I became a Broncos fan for life. And I became a Cowboys hater – for life.
A couple years later I was attending Faith Baptist School in Longmont, Colo. The coach there made me go out for football since I was the biggest kid in junior high. It was only eight-man flag football, but I had a great time. I nurtured a love for the game and went on to be an all-state bench warmer for Niwot High. That’s what happens when you’re a 5-10, 150-pound lineman (dripping wet in pads). I also played behind two guys who eventually earned all-district honors at center (one was a year behind me).
My love of the game grew through college. As a journalist, I photographed every single home football game at Adams State College my four years there. And I won a few awards for the effort.
My parents eventually became season ticket holders for the Broncos. I have seen 21 of the 32 NFL teams play live. I’ve photograph a couple of NFL games, as well as some United States Football League and World League of American Football games.
It’s now that time of year when I usually get excited about the big game. It’s been hard to do that for a few years, and this year is no exception. I don’t care for either team, though I’d like to see the Arizona Cardinals pull it off.
While I will always first and foremost be a Broncos fan, I am taking a liking to the Houston Texans. I’ve followed the team from afar from the start. I became more interested when Gary Kubiak was hired as coach and brought a boatload of Bronco castoffs with him. Now I live here and feel an even closer connection. In fact, I’ve already developed that optimistic attitude that lingers in the hearts of all Texan fans – just wait’ll next year!
In the meantime, there is a meaningless championship game to be played followed by a long off-season called “baseball.”
I got my first taste of the major leagues while living in Minnesota in the late 1980s. The year I went to my first game was the year the Twins won it all. From then on I was hooked. I’ve still got a soft sport for the Twinkies, but my first love is the Rockies. I even worked for them briefly as a ticket-taker between journalism jobs. I’ve seen 21 or so of the teams play. I lost count when I was working for the Rockies. I saw lots of baseball that summer.
I don’t know that I can warm up to the Astros, but my wife has to a degree (but she was born in Houston). I hope to see a game or two this summer, especially when the Rockies come to town.
I know there are other sports out there, some of them even professional, like “basketball.” I’ve been to one NBA game. I wasn’t impressed. I had more fun watching the Harlem Globetrotters.
Hockey has been even harder to watch. The first game I saw on TV was the final game of the Stanley Cup a few years ago when the Colorado Avalanche won it all. I went to my first live game last season to watch the Amarillo Gorillas play. That was OK, but hard to follow when you don’t know much about the game.
My children like going to baseball games. They’re not much into football – yet. I’ve still got time to convert them. I doubt they’ll take the time to watch the Super Bowl this weekend. It’s just as well. When you don’t care about the teams that are playing, ad-watching becomes the name of the game. Last year was a let-down, but who knows what will happen this year.
I’m hoping for a few laughs, a close game, a Cardinal victory and perhaps some bonding time with my sons.
In the meantime, my team is in the same place as yours – in front of the TV watching someone else play.
posted by Joe Southern | 10:04 AM
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