Enter FOOTBALL SEASON

In the Deep South you have priorities:

God and Jesus

Family

Football

Work

Notice that work is not after family. In today's technology football, when necessary, is watched at work,
whether from the TV in the break room or from ESPN on the smart phone. All weddings and major life events, including the birthing of children, when possible are scheduled around the major SEC football games.

Kids Market is this weekend. Oh, that is the day of the Auburn-LSU game. We have to be back in time for kickoff.

The first official day of college football is treated like the Super Bowl or a National Holiday. The grill is fired, the menus are made, the cooler, the ice, the deserts, the veggie trays. A smorgasbord of finger-foods, barbecue, sweets, treats, etc. There is not one game, there are several. From eleven in the morning until eleven at night, one game after another, two--and sometimes three--at one time are on simultaneously in room after room of the same house. If you are lucky, there is even a game in the bathroom.

For those less fortunate who have to venture out to the stores for shopping or other necessary errands, never fear! There is a game on at least one TV in every store, not to mention that scores are updated on radio broadcasts on every channel.

In our house this weekend we had a mix of fans. Now mixing fans is like mixing blood types. This can be a very dangerous operation. The Alabama fans, the Auburn fans, the Army fan... Then we had fans who chose sides in games that didn't even involve local teams. Do you cheer for the SEC? Do you pull for someone out of conference? How do you cheer? Are you loud? Excited? Obnoxious? Do you rub it into the faces of the the others in the room who are pulling the opposite as you?

Families break up over football games. In some extreme cases people are even shot and killed. Putting a group of people into a room and dressing them differently and telling them to pull for different teams brings out the best and the worst of everyone.

This weekend was the first official test for our family. We fared well. We learned that despite the fact that we have our favorites, we can also root for each other's teams. Even if we don't understand why the group would root for Clemson at first, we can be glad Clemson won because everyone else is. We can all join sides against Johnny Football...and in future games...LSU.

These games give us something to talk about around the dinner table and the water cooler...for at least ten weeks and more if you win a championship. :)

As I said all day on the Eve of  Football Season... HAPPY FOOTBALL!!!