Today is the last Sunday of the regular season for the NFL. I absolutely love football season. There was a time that I could quote stats, knew all the players on my beloved Houston Oilers, and got so involved in the games that I actually cried when the Oilers blew a lead and lost to the much hated Buffalo Bills. Sadly, I think they still hold the record for blowing the largest lead to lose a game in NFL history.
Since that loss I have not allowed my heart to be so invested in a game that devastation over a loss is a possibility. The season is really representative of something more personal and it has only been in the last four years that I have come to understand the connection I feel.
My dad was a quiet man. He worked hard to provide for his family but, for many reasons that are now unimportant, he was content being a bystander in the activities of family life. He enjoyed just watching and listening to those he loved live their lives. Football was one of the things that connected us. I discovered this more as an adult living across the country from him. We didn't always support the same teams, but I was able to discuss the game, the players and who was likely to go to the Superbowl with him. Even during his last days we watched football together.
Each September, as the the teams hit the grid iron once more, these sweet memories signal the beginning of my favorite time of year and remind me that it is through simple human connections people live on forever .
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