It's the time of year....

...when there's too much football going on.

Of course, I would say that because I'm not a big sports geek. Sorry, that's just how it is. That is strange though, seeing that the game is all about using resources tactically and strategically to achieve your goals, and I'm a big strategic and tactical gamer. Why just last night I rolled over the French at Agincourt...but that's another posting.

I like baseball, high school basketball (come on, I grew up in Indiana and now I live in Quincy, you KNOW I have to like h.s. hoops :), even have seen some impressive soccer. But football leaves me cold.

My friend "J" doesn't understand this. He's a football nut--a freak--a fanatic. He looks at my pictures in my (now ancient) yearbooks and wants to know how I didn't get roped into football when I was young.

The fact is, I did play backyard football all through grade school. I have wonderful memories of a "big game" between my buds and myself against some kids from another classroom at Holman School in Peru, Indiana. We were in Steve Beiter's backyard, the ball was passed to me and I went across the goal line with five of the "enemy" trying to drag me down. I was too big and too strong for those little punks to stop. Thank god it wasn't flag ball.

But then in 6th grade they started a "real" football program for the kids. And they badgered me and badgered me to sign up. I wasn't interested in organized play but I finally gave in, figuring if nothing else it would be fun to re-enact some of our better plays from the backyard.

I played for less than 30 seconds in one game of the 8 game "season". The coach never explained, never offered instruction, never did much of anything, and I ended up being the one guy who never got on the field. And therein lies the foundation of my complete non-interest in football. No thanks, not even in a boardgame simulation or on the computer.

I turned my attentions to marching band, where I got to be involved in every event (albeit I was a pretty bad trombonist). That also wore thin, since I ended up having to learn a new show for every home football game, and that fouled up Friday nights for three years of high school. So there's some resentment of football, too, for messing up my free time. I quit band after my junior year in h.s. too!

So that's why I'm not into football and you won't see much beyond this post on my blog, "J".

But I COULD be coaxed into some backyard gridiron action sometime this fall, if the price is right. :)