THANKSGIVING DAY FOOTBALL

My favorite day to watch football has always been Thanksgiving. I lived, for 20 years, in Dallas and the Cowboys always play on “Turkey Day.” On prior Thanksgivings, I knew I'd be with my brother-in-law, either at his house in Austin or at my house in Dallas. The constant being that he and I would enjoy a good cigar, perhaps a short adult beverage and some good football with some knowledgeable football conversation. I was always very thankful for Thanksgiving Day specifically for that reason. You see, the rest of the year, my wife is my "football buddy" when she happens to wander through the room. I have to give her credit for trying, but I suspected that something was askew the day that she asked which "costume" the Cowboys were wearing. Her attempts to understand the game, its rules and even it's mode of apparel are impressive. It's almost as though she really does care about what's going on, but then she'll ask "don't they get an extra kick?" or, on the punt, "why are they just kicking it to the other team, won't that give them the ball?" She even tries to be part of the Sunday football experience when she's not in the room. She will ask me about the status of the game and then try to make some sense of the answer. During a Cowboys/49ers game a few years back, I happened to mention a particularly good play where Tony Romo threw a bomb to Terrell Owens who caught the ball and ran it in to the end zone. It was a 75 yard play and resulted in a 6 point gain for the Cowboys. When I told my wife, she said "whoa…that's almost far enough for a touchdown." I said, "It WAS a touchdown," to which she shot back, "But you just said he caught it at the 75 yard line." I explained to her that there was no such thing as a 75 yard line. I'm not sure if she got it or was just saying that she did to calm me down and shut me up. Please don't take this the wrong way. My wife is a very smart person. She comes from a long line of extremely bright people and has been the impetus for much of the greatness I see in my kids. She's an amazing role model, a hard worker, a wonderful caretaker of her family, but, when it comes to sports, pretty much all of them, she's not the most astute observer and commentator. In fact, there isn't much she could care less about. She's just trying to make me feel comfortable on a Sunday afternoon, and who could fault her for that. For a wife to go out of her way like that to make her husband comfortable is a quality that I cherish in her. It's very special. It's just that it can make for a pretty exasperating and tiring few hours. After the game, I usually need a nap. She told me recently, that, when it came to sports in school, she was always the last one picked. Judging from our conversations during the game, I wouldn't be surprised if she was also the last one they let into the crowd.