Natalia Naman Temesgen: Sharing some thoughts for Super Bowl weekend
It's the Super Bowl again.
I feel compelled to say something interesting about this matchup, but I'm not sure who's playing. Instead, I'll just share some stream of consciousness thoughts on football in honor of the big game.
In the third grade, I realized I'd like to be a football player. This had nothing to do with the sport itself. No, I just deeply enjoyed the feeling of being bumped around in a mass of people.
After recess ended in the chilly months of the Minnesota school year, students would basically rush the double doors back into the school building. It was
like the stampede into Wal-Mart on Black Friday. But since we were about 3 feet tall, there was little room for injury. Bundled up in my winter coat, I gleefully pushed toward the door amidst the throng of kids and got jostled around like a pinball. I later realized that didn't mean I should play football, but that I should move to Manhattan, N.Y.
In middle school, I was offended that the girls would play flag football in P.E. class, while the boys got to play touch football. Half of them were smaller than us. Why did we have to use the stupid flags? Early feminist theory at work.
In high school, my sweetheart was a defensive tackle. I couldn't answer many follow-up questions on the subject, but I know it's why he was so big. I didn't have any extracurricular requirement to attend the Columbus High School football games, so I tried to attend just enough of them to fulfill girlfriend-ly duties.
Like your average teenage romance, we talked about getting married, buying a house, having pets and kids and all sorts of things without once considering income, careers, debt or anything relevant. I remember we agreed on having a dog named "Blitz." I came up with that name. That was the extent of my contribution to his love of football. I'm not sure what a blitz is, but I still like the sound of it.
In college, Princeton football beat Dartmouth to claim the Ivy League Championship for the first time in 11 years. Everyone freaked out, so I did, too.
They had a bonfire on campus. I got a T-shirt. I just wore it to work on Friday because we were allowed to wear our favorite football team shirt.
I wouldn't even call Princeton my favorite football team. I just have the shirt and when you have the chance to wear a T-shirt, why wouldn't you?
Long story short, I feel about the Super Bowl like an atheist might feel about Christmas. I don't really get it, I think it's overblown, and I'm generally not interested in participating. However, I understand that it means something to a lot of people, including people whom I care about. And so, I will probably be watching tonight with said people and asking irritating questions about what just happened. May your team win!
Natalia Naman Temesgen is an independent correspondent. Contact her at nataliadian1@gmail.com or on Twitter@cafeaulazy.
This story was originally published January 31, 2015 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Natalia Naman Temesgen: Sharing some thoughts for Super Bowl weekend."