The Things We Do For Football

I don't like the cold.

Ok, that statement doesn't really impart my feelings about the cold. To be truthful, I cannot stand the feeling of being cold. I hate the cold. I loathe the cold.

So, why do I ever leave the house in the winter? Well, if I must admit, there are some fun things that can only be done in the colder months. Things like skiing, snowshoeing, and watching live football. Fortunately, I live in Colorado, where the weather in fall and winter is often more warm than one might expect. Unfortunately, the weather was not unusually warm when we braved the elements for a couple of fall football games over the last couple of weeks.

Now, if I must be honest, the only element we braved was air, but I like to be dramatic.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago our nephew was playing in the "Super Bowl" for his youth football league. Of course, our entire family had to gather to cheer him on.

Football!

His team, the Giants, did really well this year; they only lost one game! Unfortunately, their only defeat came against the team they were playing during the Super Bowl. And those other kids were huge! But the Giants played really well, and we were yelling and cheering for them the whole time - despite the cold!

The baby was a minor distraction from the action. But a welcome one.

Yay! Go Giants!

So intense.

Some of our family was less interested than others. The girls cheered on their brother, but they also did silly dances and texted a lot.

As the sun went down, we got colder and colder. We had to bundle up under blankets to keep warm.

Toward the end of the game. Things weren't looking too great.

Sadly, the Giants did not win. But I was so impressed with their discipline. The other team was getting tons of penalties, including multiple personal foul calls. The Giants kept their cool and played hard. So good for them!

After getting warmed up at the little football game (figuratively, of course - I was still freezing!), we were ready for the BIG game. Last weekend, we headed to the Broncos/Chiefs showdown downtown!

In case you don't know, my silly husband is a HUGE Chiefs fan. He has been his entire life. While I'm not as enthusiastic (... or obsessed...) as he is, I've been a Broncos fan my entire life. It's amazing we've been able to make this relationship work.

Twice every year, we enjoy cheering on our teams as they go head-to-head. This year, Matt finally decided to brave the Bronco crowd to see his Chiefs in the flesh. My dad (huge Broncos fan) came along and we met up with Matt's boss (huge Chiefs fan) at the game.

Heading into the game.

Pregame fun. Parachuters dropped into the stadium.

Parachuter!

The Broncos band and cheerleaders.

Go Broncos!

We were all hoping it would be a close game with intense action. Unfortunately, the 2-6 Broncos somehow destroyed the 5-3 Chiefs.

Football. The Broncos are winning!

While I love that my team was winning, I was sad Matt was having a crummy time. I don't think any of us would have been upset if our team lost, but to have them suck majorly is not a lot of fun. Matt used to go to lots of games when we lived in Kansas, but he hadn't seen the Chiefs live since we moved to Denver. It would have been nice if his return game had been a little more exciting.

Matt's not thrilled. I'm feeling pretty ok.

The score just before halftime. In case you can't see, it was 35-7.

We tried to have fun during the rest of the game, even though things started to get a little boring. And really cold.

The CSU band. I like them.

Our team's winning!

The Chiefs fans, being good sports.

It was a fun game... kind of. Before we went to the game, Matt was talking about making this game an annual tradition for us. I wonder if he still feels the same way...

So, I guess I had a good time at my football events, despite the freezing cold temperatures. I've found that the cold is more tolerable when I'm doing fun activities. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't grumble and complain every time I go out in the miserable, winter world!