The euphoria that fall brings can only really, truly, be understood by football-loving families. The crunchy leaves, the all-day tailgating, and the crisp air get us giddier than a couple of kids on Christmas morning. Sure, there won't be any presents, but the gift that football continues to give throughout the season is, well, priceless. It's undeniable that there are things all families who love football just understand, and that understanding makes it easy to recognize that fall is, by far, the best time of year.
Everyone has their vice; for some people it’s drugs, for others it's food or bad reality television, but for us it’s football and we make no apologies for dawning our favorite team's jerseys and stressing about last-minute plays. We definitely won't feel bad about raising our kids in a football-loving environment, as my partner and I truly hope that, eventually, our boys will love football just as much as we do. After all, any true fanatic understands that football is, first and foremost, a family affair. It's a great excuse to get together, and whether we're all pulling for the same team or not, the love of that quintessential game day experience is something we can all appreciate. Most of us learned from an early age that Sundays are sacred and the refs are the enemy; we know not to talk during third downs and that overtime is more stressful than tax season.
As with any family tradition, the love of football is passed down from generation to generation. Our grandparents taught our parents, our parents taught us, and so we too will teach our own children all about the love of the game. It all sounds very weird and cult-like, sure, but if you were raised in a football family you know exactly what I'm talking about.