Redskins Stadium – Fed Ex Field
Photo Credit: www.jmusportsblog.com

Ohhhh fall. I love you so much because you bring me so many of my favorite things.  Colorful leaves, crisp weather, riding boots, lush clothing in rich colors, and FOOTBALL!!  The 2012-2013 football season kicked off this past Wednesday with arguably America’s most polarizing team, the Dallas Cowboys taking on – and defeating – the New York Giants.  I could not be happier that football season is upon us.  Nothing brings me greater joy than knowing that I can now structure my Sundays (and on occasion Monday nights) around watching my favorite sport for hours on end.

Football has been one of my favorite sports since I was old enough to watch it with my Dad and scream (usually repeating whatever he said) at the television.  I still remember being around four or five years old and watching football with my Dad and asking “what does 3rd and 6 mean?” and listening intently as he patiently explained the rules to a game I’d never play but learn to love so much.  My love of football has grown to the point where although I will forever be a Redskins fan, I can thoroughly enjoy watching a game regardless of who is playing.  At the age of 13, I had my first experience of crying over a football game due to a broken heart after Steve McNair and the Tennessee Titans lost in Superbowl XXXIV and can still hear screams of “NOOOOOOOO” throughout our house as Kevin Tyson fell one yard short of the goal line.  I later cried tears of joy when the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl shortly after their city was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, and when my favorite player, famed Redskins cornerback Darrell Green was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Football has always been a sport that just stirs something deep inside of me.  I can’t quite put my finger on what about it resonates with me so much.  Perhaps because the sport itself is so uniquely American (no other country really plays it or gives it a cultural significance the way Americans do), or maybe just the team aspect…the fact that these men spend their entire lives training for one game, one moment (the Super Bowl).  Also, when it comes to actually attending games, it’s such a spectacle!  There are teams like the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders where going to a game on Sunday is literally an event that some people check off their bucket lists.  The whole experience is just so much deeper than the sport itself.  Secretly, one of my dreams is to attend a game in every single NFL stadium.  How AWESOME of a road trip would that be? Think of all the states I’d hit!

I’m a ride ’til I die Redskins fan and I’ll admit that we do have a love/hate relationship, but who’s your team?  Who do you think will take the ‘ship this year?  Leave me a comment below!