I am Ready for Some Football This Weekend! My Lifelong Fanhood for the Dallas Cowboys

This may sound a bit simplistic, but in my mind, there are just two times of the year:

• 
  
• Football season
  
• Not football season
  

I guess I could also say that about Christmastime, which truly is my favorite time of the year, but enough about that.  We're here to talk about football.

I do watch some college football, but I mainly watch NFL games.  I was born and raised in Dallas, where it is required by law that you become a Cowboy fan.  As such, there are pictures of me rooting for the Cowboys when I was barely old enough to walk. 

Most pictures of me as a child have me wearing a Cowboys shirt of some sort (or Fonzie, of course).  I was indoctrinated early....by my mom.  The picture at right was taken at the Cowboys training camp in 2007.  It was nice of them to allow me to suit up for some practice with the guys, huh?

Yes, my mom was the one who got me interested in football.  My stepdad was relatively apathetic about it back then, although he would throw passes to me over and over again, since I was convinced that I was going to be an NFL receiver someday.  Instead, I played defensive end in high school for a couple of years.  I did pretty well, for what it's worth.  I led our small division in quarterback sacks.  Thankfully, I didn't hit my peak in high school.  It was fun, but I have really enjoyed the years of my life ever since a whole lot more.

This weekend, my mom is coming to town and we get to watch the Cowboys opening game together on Sunday.  It wasn't planned intentionally that way, but I'm happy that it worked out.

Even today, I have a signed football from Roger Staubach in my office, along with a commemorative coin from when Emmitt Smith broke the all-time rushing record.  The signed football was a gift from....my mom.  :)  The coin was a gift from one of my good friends, Alan Kirkpatrick, who also works as an agent for me.

My wife is not really a fan, but she has learned to tolerate my outbursts and the setting aside of a few hours on Sundays during this time of the year.  I don't have a lot of hobbies, when you get right down to it - I don't really like to golf, hunt, fish, etc. and I don't follow baseball, basketball, or any other major sport.  I guess this makes it more palatable for my wife.  Maybe she'll come around and understand some day just how enjoyable this pastime can be.