Football & Family

THE PATS are going to the Super Bowl again.

For the 8th time. That, my friends, is goddamn amazing.

Carol and I were digging the game with Keith and Emily last night.

It was a shitty night to be driving. Icy crazy roads. Yet we jumped into The Peace Mobile and forged a slow, hazardous road to K&E's home. The ride home was no less treacherous.

The weatherman blew it again. Gonna get warmer, ice will melt, no black ice, no problemo. It got warmer in strange pockets of warmness but for our travel purposes it did not get warmer where we needed it to.

And forget about Henniker. Henniker never gets warmer. It exists in its own arctic zone. Climate scientists often mistake Henniker for the North Pole. They set out on expedition and suddenly they are standing in front of Harvester Market. Wondering aloud - "There is a grocery store on the North Pole?"

They waste a lot of money that way.

Anyway, initially I thought to myself that we are quite THE PATS fanatics. Battling icy conditions and all.

As we sat with Keith and Emily I realized the truth.

It is all about family. Watching that game with our son and his wife made it better.

That is what was important to us. That is why we threw caution to the wind when any sane person would have stayed home.

It was such a relaxed night, sitting in the living room in front of the Great TV, digging on THE PATS kickass performance, engaging in easy flowing conversation, checking in on the changes in their life, laying out the changes in ours.

Our family has settled into a comforting ritual, aided and abetted by the consistent success of THE PATS.

The wild card or divisional game is taken in at Paula and Bill's house. A mad, fun, unpredictable, and amazing time fueled by fanaticism, enthusiasm, alcohol and the occasional mind bender of questionable legality, food, friendship and family.

It is a goddamn blast and an event. Paparazzi often circle the house in hopes of snagging scandalous photos. But we keep it in the basement where there are no windows.

The conference championship typically occurs at Keith and Emily's, although we have consumed Super Bowls there as well.

This get together loosely includes my brother, Craig and Karen, Carol and me, K&E. A revolving cast of characters depending on who has what going on.

And the weather. Depending on the goddamn weather. My brother Ed couldn't make it last night because of icy insanity.

We missed him.

No matter what the lineup is, it is always a laid back, easy flowing night of comfort, conversation, laughter and football.

Craig and Karen have owned the Super Bowl in recent years. Same cast of characters, less revolving. Probably because of the magnitude of the game. Especially when THE PATS are involved.

C&K always fret about the lack of seating space. Doesn't matter to us. We take over the couch and circle around their GIGANTIC TV in whatever chairs are available. Food gets spread out on the coffee table, the kitchen table, the ceiling, and wherever else we can fit nachos and chicken wings and pizza and KFC and speecy spicy meat-a-balls.

A goddamn good time. Craig's awesome sense of humor and Karen's smoothly cool personality (and ability to deflate Craig's ego when necessary) combine to make the day a blast.

The space may be small but the family bond is huge.

What a cast of characters. Paula and Bill, Keith and Emily, Craig and Karen, Eddie, Carol and........................me. These people are my family. How lucky am I to have them?

Goddamn lucky is the correct answer to that query. I feel lucky to be around them, to spend time with them in social settings and family settings where reality looms large and the pettiness of the world recedes.

A reality of trust and respect and love and comfort and happiness. I do not need any more than that.

These games are great. Exciting. In and of themselves, and because of the family get togetherness they inspire. THE PATS have brought a lot of happiness into my life and the lives of my family.

But the big thing is the ritual. The family closeness. The shared time, the conversation, the laughter, the love.

These things take an over the top event and make it HUGE.

The memories of the games stay with me. They bring me satisfaction and an escape from the mundane.

The memories of time spent with my family sustain me.

See you on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona.

PATS/seahawks.

Gonna be one hell of a game.

Gonna be one hell of a family moment.