I have serious hat hair, raccoon eyes, and my face is massively windburned. Going to a professional football game on one of the coldest nights in December is like dropping into another country somewhere near the Arctic Circle. At midnight. Where the population ratio is about 100 men to one woman (in her twenties).
In this particular country (or should I say planet?) you also get fireworks, jumbo speakers, a cadre of Minutemen dressed in period costumes shooting antique rifles, a perfectly-coiffed, hatless Donald Trump swooping in on his “Trump” helicopter, and 16 gorgeous, infectiously happy, women shaking pom-poms for four hours straight.
The New England Patriots and the New York Jets – two teams hoping to make it into the Playoffs – duked it out on our home turf at Gillette Sadium. My husband Jay and I got to go, thanks to his winning two tickets at a silent auction for one of the most coveted games of the season.
If you’d told me that I’d be wearing so many layers of puffy clothing that I could barely move (forget about going the bathroom), and that the stands would be full of underdressed beer-drinking standing dudes blocking the view of the overdressed sitting few…I would have said you’re kidding me, right?
I’m not sure how much of the game I actually saw. The place was so stimulating, there was no replay button to press, and no amount of sweet-talking to get exuberant fans to sit down. But I’m really glad I went.
It was an experience that offered me yet another glorious opportunity to let go of attachment to the outcome, to accept things as they are no matter how uncomfortable I was, and allow that it could actually be really fun hanging out with guys so clear in their love of the game.
The Patriots won by a landslide…But it was the gracious good humor of the Jets fans sitting behind us that got my attention, and melted my heart.
Photo: Jay and I standing in the endzone watching the pre-game warm-up, looking like we’re wearing one of those funny Samurai wrestling suits.
now that is what I call being a good sport in football hell….