My Unhealthy Relationship With Football

I’ve been an (American) football fan since childhood.

It used to be just watching my favorite team on Sundays (the Raiders, unfortunately).

Now there are NFL games ALL DAY on Sundays, plus Monday and Thursday nights.

Plus college football on Saturdays, and sometimes interesting games on other days of the week.

I’ve played fantasy football since the 90s, which has grown exponentially since then and contributed to the sport’s popularity.

If you are not a sports fan, then you are rolling your eyes. I get it and kind of envy you. 😉

Regardless, you may wonder, “Okay, Jeff, so you like football. What’s the big deal?”

It’s not a big deal per se, but it affects me in three major ways that I would consider “unhealthy”.

1. The amount of time devoted to it.
2. The long periods of sedentary time.
   

   Team Spittdogg 2010

3. Expectations and effects on my mood.

Let’s start with the first one: Time.

During the offseason, I’ll watch maybe an hour of TV a day.

Generally, I work at one of my many ever-active commitments until around 8PM, then wind down by watching an episode of a series with my wife for an hour before getting ready for bed.

DURING FOOTBALL SEASON?

I’ll watch 3+ hours of TV (football) on Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and then a 10-hour marathon of football games on Sunday.

Plus, watching an episode of something on non-football nights…

PLUS, all the extra screen time researching for fantasy and playing “commissioner” for two season-long leagues.

It’s a problem.

A couple of years ago, when I started recognizing the pattern, I decided I would not allow football to dictate what I would do on a particular day.

If I had the opportunity to do something else (for example, play pickleball or explore the outdoors with my wife), then I would prioritize the other activity.

That was a good start, and I’ve made a few other changes that I’ll talk more about in a moment… but I don’t yet feel like they are enough.

This leads me to my second concern: Exercise. Or more specifically, lack of exercise.

Sitting on my bum, doing nothing but watching games for hours on end is counter to my desire to be active.

I spend far enough time sitting in front of a computer like I am now…

The additional hours on end, doing nothing but spectating makes me feel icky.

Again, relaxation is important. We all need to take breaks, so I don’t want to downplay that.

It’s the amount of inactive time that I struggle with… it’s too much for my liking.

Solution?

Spend a chunk of the day on my exercise bike while watching games.

Not the entire day, mind you, but 2-3 hours broken up throughout the day makes me feel much better both physically and emotionally.

PLUS, now that I finally got around to putting up a TV in our workout room, my exercise bike doesn’t need to sit in the living room during football season anymore…

Which makes my wife happy too.

And that brings us to my third area of concern: Expectations.

You see, it can be fun to have a rooting interest.

Be it for my favorite team, the Raiders (which has been more frustrating than fun the last 20 years…), or against evil teams like the Patriots, Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers.

PLUS, fantasy football creates a whole new world of rooting interests, as I root for players on my fantasy teams to help me win my fantasy matchup.

All that can be fun, which is the whole point.

But there is the other side… the letdown when things don’t “go my way”.

I’ve been making meaningful efforts over the last few years, to live without expectations of things that are outside of my control.

So, my rooting interest in football (and other sports), is a huge contradiction for me.

Life without expectations??

Yes, think about all the things in life that affect your mood, but that you have no control over.

World events.

Politics.

Anything on the news.

Other people’s behavior.

And yes, spectator sports.

They get us down when they don’t measure up to our idea of how things “should be” based on our values.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have expectations of myself.

But I’m in control of myself (usually), so if I fail to live up to my own expectations, that’s on me.

What I’m trying to avoid is letting things outside of me affect my mood.

How much lighter would you feel if you didn’t have expectations of people and things outside of your control?

You’d float on air. That’s what I’m aiming for.

Back to football…

While I still enjoy it quite a bit, I am actively managing my expectations of the outcome.

I’m trying to just enjoy the sport, the spectacle, the athleticism, regardless of the outcome.

It’s a work in progress, but like I preach all the time, progress over perfection.

This is a form of a baby step for me…

 

As I work through these things, I’m happy to report that I spent time on my stationary bike while watching football this past weekend…

And the weekend before was mostly spent playing pickleball and doing yardwork…

Being outside in the nice weather rather than holed up watching football all weekend.

I did still watch, but only for a few combined hours – not the entire weekend like would normally be the case.

It’s admittedly easier to make that decision in the nice weather.

That gets more difficult as we head into winter, so it’s a choice I’ll be continually faced with.

The expectations piece is probably the most difficult for me right now, but I’m working through it.

This is all something I’m still actively working through…

Trying to find the balance between allowing myself to enjoy something that I, uh, enjoy…

And letting it take over too many areas of my life.

 

Why write about any of this?

Because I’m hoping that you will relate – not necessarily with football – but with something that tends to take over your life.

Most of us just go through life without giving much thought to how to make things different.

I write this to help you realize that you always have a choice.

And I’m hoping you choose the best option for your mental, physical, and emotional health.