My Personal Football Story

I grew up watching my parents watch the Bengals. I watched a little, but didn’t really understand it. Although I do have a perfectly preserved replay in my memory of Tim Krumrie’s leg breaking in the Super Bowl. That traumatized me. When we moved to Knoxville, we were newly married in a new town where we knew no one. It was early in football season, 1998, the year the Tennessee Vols went undefeated and won the National Championship. The weekend we moved down was the big victory over Florida. We lived on campus, so it was easy to get swept into the team spirit. We watched college and NFL together each weekend and Jason taught me all about it. I treasured those hours together. At the time, the Bengals sucked so they got little TV coverage in Knoxville. I never had much affection for the Titans but in 1999 I became enthralled by “The Greatest Show on Turf”. I loved the Cinderella story of Kurt Warner. When I found out we shared the same faith it endeared him to me even more. We even bought his autobiography. By the end of it I just wanted to meet him and his wife for pizza and hang out. Of course things have been downhill for him lately and I kept hoping for a great comeback but it looks like he’s done. I don’t know if he’s done as far as his skills but he isn’t going to receive any more chances to make the big plays. I don’t watch the Rams much anymore now that Kurt’s gone. Some people would say that makes me a fair-weather fan and maybe it does but I think I was just a Kurt Warner fan.



Despite my love for football, I still don’t have the passion or knack for it like my husband does. I know he’s glad to have some men to discuss it with and now that we have Direct TV and he has many sports channels, well he’s just in heaven. Try as I might, I still can’t keep track of who’s in the AFC or the NFC, or who’s in what division. I do know the Bengals division at least. I don’t remember plays from 3 years ago like Jason does. It’s all I can do to keep track of the ball from the quarterback to the receiver but I don’t have the ability to watch the whole field and see someone getting held. I still need some things explained to me, like a random rule or a game strategy. I don’t recognize field formations. So, I'm not a superfan but I love it anyway. Jason bought me The Mom's Pocket Guide to Football and it's helped.

Two weeks ago, Jason and I took two days off of work and took a road trip to Canton and Cleveland, OH, our destinations being The Football Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

I definitely don’t have a good grasp on NFL history, so the Football Hall of Fame was more for Jason than for me. It was interesting to see some of the older jersey’s and helmets. They had great little highlight films like one about fantastic finishes that won the game in the last seconds. There were lots of game balls, which, if you’ve seen one football, you’ve seen them all in my opinion. I guess I should be thrilled that that’s the one so and so caught in the end zone to win the game.

They had a display of each team with their list of inductees and some memorabilia from those players. I learned that the Bengals only had one player inducted so far. I was proud to see Anthony Munoz’s jersey representin’. He holds a special place in my heart. He’s just a great guy and a great player. His son plays for my beloved Vols and came to speak at our church for a youth group event. Classy stuff.

The actual Hall was a creepy room full of heads.

I thought the museum was great and I would recommend it, especially for diehard fans and older fans who know more of the history. It didn’t hold my attention as long as it did Jason’s but I still enjoyed it. Next stop…..Rock & Roll baby!