The National Championship

Something has occurred that I did not know was actually possible. I have fallen victim to something I am going to call "regional sports favorability". This concept is quite simple. The situation you are in affects your choices in regards to sports. The following factors are why: Social, Geographic & Familial Status. This is actually a pretty easy concept.

First, the social structure that we place ourselves has a great deal to do with our sports. When I lived in Florida, for 9 years, I had a strong group of male friends who followed football a great deal. I had never really been that much of a football fan previous to this. Within a few years, I was fanatical. I was in 4 fantasy leagues, had a bookie and routinely had a football dominated social life. It was not uncommon to watch football for 12 hours on Saturday and about 10 hours on Sunday. This was common because all of my friends were doing the same thing. We loved this lifestyle.

Second, the geographic location plays a large part. I live in a St. Louis, MO now where there is a strong football following, but not in the same way. Basically, the St. Louis Rams play here in town and they are horrible right now. There is no specific college team that is located here in the actual city of St. Louis. Now, you may be saying that "Orlando does not have a team either, dummy". That is true, of course, but that is the point. Because Orlando is a transient town with much travel-through type citizens, they bring their football traditions from all over the country there. Everyone has a different team to follow and there is no local team to strain the allegiances. Also, Florida, as a state, is known as a football state, thanks to having at least 2-3 nationally recognized, generally top-25 college teams. There is also a few more sporting choices here in St. Louis. We have pro baseball, pro hockey and an ass load of cultural activities here that provide numerous alternatives to football. Don't tell me that geography does not play a part in this.

Third, and most noticeable in my opinion, is the Familial Status situation that we find ourselves in now. I have a wife and a child. My wife loves and would never dream of saying that I cannot watch football or anything of the sort, but, she would not hesitate in the slightest to give a stern look at a sink full of dishes or a yard full of leaves and ask me what my plans for the day are. There is only one real answer to this particular question. My son, who is 5 weeks old as of this publishing, does not interfere with my football in an obvious way. However, his dirty diapers, desire to eat and need to be interacted with seem to be much more important than watching football.

The long and the short of it comes down to this: I don't have the same group of friends to watch football with; the town I live in does not seem to be overall as football crazy; my family comes before pigskin. This does not seem unreasonable to me. If I reread this enough times, I might even convince myself.