“Football! Football! Football!” It’s the call heard by every sports fan around the nation as the 2009 season started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9th.

Is it just me, or does the start of the football season, whether it be college or NFL, seem to have an overwhelming affect on the male species? My husband, for example, normally watches very little TV. That is, except for the occasional Discovery or History Channel or news special that may air. Usually he is the one that turns the tube off when it has become the background noise to the kids playing. Yet during football season, he practically plans his life around the football schedule!

But it’s more than just the game that must be viewed. There’s about an hour of pre-game coverage, just to get prepared for the game and to find out all the happenings in the world of football. Then the game itself lasts for about 3 hours, including the half time commentary that explains and highlights the first half, as well as gives opinions on what each team needs to do in the second. Then each game is followed by post game coverage full of interviews, highlights, and wrap up commentary. Seriously! That is about four to five hours for just one game!

You know, it’s been joked that men are single-minded creatures. Well, whoever came up with that cleaver observation must have been trying to get a man’s attention during a football game. It’s like all their other senses shut down, especially their hearing. A kind of funny thought is the fact that when a game is on, if you aren’t talking about food or football, most men, including my husband, can’t (or won’t) hear you.

Aside from the TV being tied up for hours, and the comfy couch quarterback shouting at the refs, coaches, and players, football season really isn’t so bad. It actually in a lot of ways makes men are more agreeable. Many men are willing to do almost anything as long as come kick off they are stationed in front of a TV somewhere. I could leave my hubby with the kids all day, and he wouldn’t question me as long as I’m back in time for the coin toss. He will help me around the house with the dishes, dusting, and laundry as long as he is sitting in front of the tube for the pre game coverage. He would even go with me and the kids to hang out at my mother’s as long as he is comfortably situated in time to watch the players run onto the field.

Football doesn’t only affect a man at home. It also brings an understood camaraderie between men of all ages regardless if they are best friends or perfect strangers. Whether men are watching from the stands, the local sports bar, or someone’s house they will become instant friends with who ever is watching the game, especially if they are cheering for the same team. And if their team wins, they are on cloud nine for hours! Caution when on cloud nine, though. If they are at a restaurant or sports bar they might be tempted to buy the next round!

I have no idea what it is about football that causes men to act so strangely. But what I do know is that no matter where they are or what they are doing, men won’t stop and ask for directions, but they will stop and ask for the score.

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(Original photo by Avinash Kunnath, used under Creative Commons license.)