I live in the South, and Southerners take their college football very seriously. This time of year, it seems every car either boasts an SEC flag, or (from all the gleeful transplants living here) one from a rival conference. Allegiances are proclaimed on every jersey and T-shirt and Sunday sermon. Our own family are diehard fans of University of Michigan (my husband’s alma mater) and we have spent many glorious Saturdays (and some not-so-glorious ones) shouting at the television and cheering them on.
But not all women are as into football as I am. I hear from many women who feel like football widows this time of year. Some wives dread those three (or ten) hours every Saturday. And Sunday. And Monday. Those hours when their husband parks himself in front of the TV and seems to check out of parenting and household chores . . . and is seemingly crazy enough to think that their wives are okay with this! To think that their wives might feel able to ignore the piles of laundry and sit on the couch too!
If you feel a bit like a football widow, and find yourself resenting all the time your man spends watching football, a few crucial “aha moments” might be the start of a new perspective—and a new way of addressing it. You may or may not always see dramatic changes in his actions, but it is likely that you’ll see dramatic changes in how you feel about it. And you might just have a little fun along the way. (Go Blue!)
Here are four things you need to know about your husband and football season:
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