The Football Wife » Football

It’s Been Awhile… Travel without the Kiddo

Sara — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:23:41 +0000

The last time I went anywhere with my husband {other than out to dinner} without company, I looked like this:

I may look ready for adventure & action, but do not be deceived…

This is the sexy I brought to vacation.

BUT… I have exciting news! Coach and I are headed to a warm destination on our own once more. Just the two of us, for one nice, long weekend at the…

football convention.

Our New Normal {Life After Football Season}

Sara — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:05:57 +0000

Getting Along at Home

Daddy is the good guy, especially when he’s only home for dinner & bedtime. Ahhh, but now that Coach is home again, someone small is having a hard time taking direction from the man of the house. It was almost comical listening to her sass her Daddy like he was a big brother home from college rather than the man who gave her life & keeps a roof over her head. ”Stop shushing me, Dad!”

To all the dads out there returning from football season, I say: take back your authority! Moms don’t always like being the bad guy.

The Fight for the Remote

Goodbye Caillou… hello news & non-stop football games. The battle for the remote control has gotten out of hand in this house. Coach wants to watch football {shocking!} and Ellie wants to watch Caillou, Caillou, and more Caillou. Her addiction to screens has become so unbearable that I recently checked her into television rehab. It’s this amazing program where the children listen to music & create art projects, play restaurant, & take daily naps.

The Daddy Do-it’s

Music to my ears: ”No, I want Daddy to do it.” YES, Dear Child… by all means. I will not be offended that you have chosen Daddy to buckle you into your carseat, wipe your butt, & rub your feet. We live to serve you.

Our New Normal

Although recruiting season has begun, I still prefer this schedule as our “new normal”. I love football season, don’t get me wrong BUT it stresses me out. My waist line is proof. There is nothing about recruiting season that makes me want to stuff my face with cheese covered carbohydrates. Inevitably, there will be days of travel similar to the season & recruiting phone calls late into the evening, but overall it’s nice to have him home again.

Three cheers!

Football Season is Over… sort of.

No Love for the Haters & a Security Breach

Sara — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:15:04 +0000

After suffering some disappointing setbacks this season, Ellie & I headed to the stadium on Saturday with a sense of hope. The parking lot was dotted with alumni celebrating their homecoming weekend and up ahead we could see the pep band getting warmed up.

We grabbed our essentials — diet cokes, goldfish crackers, & a tutu. It was warm, unusual for a November afternoon {unless, of course, you live in the South.}

We spent the first half of the game sitting in the stands with some other coaches’ wives, but it felt too claustrophobic so I headed to my usual spot — the track. I prefer to walk, pace, & generally distract myself on game day.

During half-time, Homecoming royalty were crowned and coaches’ daughters rushed the field {hello, security breach!}. The girls had a fine time shaking their three & four year old groove things on the sideline before finally being chased off after much begging on my part.

As we headed towards the concession stand, that’s when I heard Mr. Negative & his dirty attitude. In his thick Southern drawl, he spoke loudly for many to hear, “Are we evah gone win anutha game, or what? My Gawd, wuhr so bay-ad. Worse team in tha league.”

Ellie hasn’t eaten dinner with her Daddy but once or twice in the last two weeks, we’ve had football players studying for tests & writing papers on buses & airplanes bound for destinations across the country, and numerous painful injuries. There have been many sacrifices made this season, as in any season, and it’s frustrating to hear negative talk. But, it is just talk. Talk that deserves to be ignored.

Don’t give up at half time.
Concentrate on winning the second half.
-Paul Bear Bryant

We played a great second half and in the last minute of the game, the Wildcats won. And while I do strongly advise that negative talk is to be ignored, I must confess…if I could have found Mr. Negative after the game, I was going to share a few words with him:

“Whale sir, you must be shocked. I bet you thought they’d nevah ween anutha game.”

Supporting Sue Paterno {My Take as a Coach’s Wife}

Sara — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:50:33 +0000

Photo Credit: Annemarie Mountz

I don’t know what it’s like to be Sue Paterno, but I do know what it’s like to serve dinner close to bedtime.

I know that being a coaches’ wife can be lonely. Our husbands work late into the evening and travel for a week at a time only to come home & need to watch film, respond to emails, and make recruiting phone calls.

I don’t know what it’s like to be Sue Paterno, because she is married to a legend. I don’t know how it must feel for her right now, but if she were to somehow read this, I would want her to know that I cried for her last night. And then I prayed for her. All those sacrifices that she made, raising five children, inviting strangers into her home… none of that was in vain. Scandal aside, her good deeds & hospitality as a coach’s wife will endure.

I started the Sideline Club because coaches’ wives need the support of other coaches’ wives. When this season is over, some of our husbands will be fired. New jobs will be secured, moving trucks will be rented, families will be uprooted, but that is the culture of a football family. Regardless of our opinions on the Penn State tragedy, I believe that one thing is for sure: Sue Paterno deserves the support that only another coach’s wife can offer.

Read below for an interview excerpt from the Patriot-News with Sue Paterno:

You’ve been in this position for so long (Joe Paterno has been head football coach at Penn State since 1966) Sue. So, what’s the hardest thing about being a football coach’s wife?

I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but the hardest thing is that people feel you’re public property. It’s worse these days because everyone has a camera on their cell phone, no one lets you eat out. They come to our door. Saturday night [after the season opener against Youngstown State] I shut things down after everyone left [the house], and eight girls came and wanted to talk to Joe about the game, and wanted a picture. I said no. This is our private property, we pay the taxes, I plant the flowers and I take care of the house. People prohibit you from being yourself. When the kids were young, we’d take them to Hersheypark, but there’d be so many people coming up to us that we would have to go back to the hotel. The kids were crying because they wanted to go on the rides. But people were everywhere.

So how difficult was it for you guys to have family time, especially during football season?
Joe never went to training table. He came home every night for dinner. We didn’t eat till 8:15 p.m. some nights, but that was OK. I just gave the kids a snack earlier, and they ate in their pajamas. That was their time with him.

Do you have a favorite memory from any football season?
The first one. [Laughs] It was the easiest. I was too dumb to know what was going on, and I didn’t know what was ahead. And I had three kids, three-and-under. And I was nursing, so I was lucky to even get to the game. I really still don’t understand games. I know we have the ball, and this and that, but I don’t understand much else.

It’s great that Joe has been to 36 bowl games in his coaching career, but that also means it’s difficult for the family to be together for the holidays, right? What do you guys do for Thanksgiving and Christmas?
Christmas is when we’re together. The kids would ask if Santa Claus could come early. And that’s what we’d do, because I couldn’t lug all [the presents] to the bowl game. We took one thing for each kid to the bowl. Joe missed two Christmases, then I said, ‘This is going to end.’ So if the team is leaving for the bowl on [December] 21 or 22, we pick the Sunday before and have Christmas and his birthday [Dec. 21], and the kids are all with us at the bowl. But I always feel that it’s when you’re all together that counts. Otherwise, it’s just a date. It would be nice to have the same day as everyone else, but if you don’t, you have your own magic. Memorial Day was always our favorite holiday because Joe was always available. Labor Day or Fourth of July he didn’t work either. You adjust.

WE ARE… {Penn State Scandal}

Sara — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:30:36 +0000

We are…

disgusted.

THE FACTS

Twelve years ago, when {then grad assistant} Mike McQueary walked into the locker room and witnessed his superior sexually abusing a child, he told someone. He told Joe Paterno. Joe Paterno told Tim Curley. And Tim Curley covered up the disturbing claims. Now famed football coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with 40 counts of sexually abusing young boys from 1994-2009.

{Let’s do the math.} 2009-1999 = 10 years.

10 years of abuse that could have been prevented.

Tim Curley has stepped down at Penn State. If he had say… called the police, this whole situation could have been very different.

COACHES DOING GOOD

There are thousands of football coaches doing good in their communities across this country. Pete Carroll spends some of his off-time in the most dangerous sections of Los Angeles with his non-profit in an attempt to prevent gang violence.

Each summer, football camps are run by passionate coaches, fathers, & mentors. Good men. Men who seek to inspire young boys, not hurt and destroy their lives. Let’s put those coaches, those GOOD men in the spotlight, on the cover of Sports Illustrated & in the Huffington Post.

SUBMIT YOUR COACH

Are there men that you know who are making a positive difference in the lives of children? Submit their name & information right here and I’ll highlight the work that they’re doing in their community. We can’t rewrite history or the Penn State scandal, but we can put the right people in the spotlight for doing the right thing.

A Wife’s Winning Strategy

Sara — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:10:35 +0000

In college football there are times when teams play an opponent outside of their league. We call these non-conference games, but {of course} we want to win them just the same.

On Saturday night, we played a team that was bigger & faster than us. Leading up to the game, EVERYWHERE we went, people asked me, “So, how’s the team look for the game this weekend.”

Peeps, I love you. But I don’t know crap about football. I make a mean buffalo chicken dip, but I honestly no very little about football. I know about the downs and how to score {the important stuff}, but I do DECLARE: they ought to make the ball blink or something so that I can follow it better after the snap.

Alright… back to THE GAME. I always tell everyone that our game strategy versus larger, beastly opponents is simple: outsmart them. *My strategy, not necessarily the talk in the locker room.

I can’t remember who kicked off & who received to start the game, but I know one thing: the other team scored first. Cue the stress eating. As their extra point sailed over the uprights, I downed a bag of apples. {Note: if you are a stress eater, I suggest smuggling apples or carrots into your next football game.}

Just as I was about to whisper some sort of expletive, I stopped myself and decided to throw one up to THE BIG GUY. We’ve been chatting about this in my SIDELINE CLUB about whether it’s cool to pray about a football game. My prayer went sort of like this, quite like a first grader writing their wishlist to Santa rather than a prayer to God:

Oh, hey God… it’s me. I uhm… don’t know if this is the right time to pray about this. I’m not going to ask you specifically for a win, but just that you’ll protect our guys and give them the strength they need to… you know, WIN. {pause} Sorry, that’s so wrong. I take that back, except for the protection and strength. I’d like to ask you for a happy home. I love you. We’ll talk again soon. Amen.

It appears that I have two strategies: outsmart & pray.

By halftime, we were ahead with a score of 14-7. Sweet, but still too close to call. It wasn’t until we scored our fifth unanswered touchdown that I started to get that wiggle in my seat. We beat a team that was bigger and faster than us with a score of 35-7. Very sweet.

Football is not just a game for me. It’s a whole lifestyle! A win sets a different mood at home and that’s enough for me to stick with MY strategy.

Tutus, Restraining Orders, & Rocket Propelled Footballs

Sara — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:42:18 +0000

I had some serious pre-game jitters this past Saturday evening. So much so, that I would have preferred to watch the game hiding in the press box wearing elastic waisted pants and a blanket over my head. It was an “I want my mommy”, eat chocolate ice cream from the container kind of feeling.

{AND, luckily…my parents were here for a visit and Ben & Jerry’s were selling $4 scoops.}

Ellie is such a wonderful distraction, especially when she’s decked out in a sparkly spirited tutu shaking pom-poms and C-R-Y-I-N-G. Even with the spirit fan to hide behind, she was still certain that the wildcat mascot would leap 40 feet from where he stood and somehow whisk her away to his secret den of paw print tattoos where she would be forced to give him a high-five.

Ah, but Nana {or was it Papa} had a trick of their sleeve — growling scares mascots away. Also, I think the wildcat has a copy of last year’s restraining order inside his furry head, thus the true reason for standing back 40 feet. Each time the mascot came into her field of vision, a simple little growl {RRrrrrrr!} made everything better and we all ENJOYED watching the game.

I’ll admit… I was incredibly nervous in the first four plays of the game. Our downs went by too fast, but just as quickly, it was our turn again. And something amazing happened! Our quarterback began shooting rockets from his hands. Not footballs… rockets! Hello, Air Raid offense. I slowly crawled out from under my blanket, grabbed a pom-pom, and realized that this year would be different.

It’s Just a Boy in a Costume {Mascot Paralysis}

Sara — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:26:10 +0000

She’s all talk.

Ellie: “It’s just a boy in a costume.”

Me: “Yes, it’s just a boy in a costume like when you went trick-or-treating.”

Ellie: “I don’t have to be afraid. The wildcat just gives hugs and stickers.”

Me: “That’s right. Are you going to give the wildcat a hug?”

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Fast forward ten minutes to our arrival on the town green. With games & a bounce house set up on the library lawn under a mid-August sun, the afternoon held the promise of sunburns, dehydration, and lots of FUN.

Before her Daddy and the football team arrived, we decided to visit the cheerleaders and get a paw print tattoo. I noticed that she kept watching over her shoulder. Looking for her Daddy, perhaps?That’s when she saw him…

Run! It’s a flesh eating boy in a costume!

With just one glance, she was instantly reduced to a blubbering, teary-eyed, pile of tu-tu. Our cheerleading coach came to our rescue and placed a white fan in Ellie’s hand and taught her to cover her face to hide from the wildcat. And thankfully, that worked. {As I’m writing this post, Ellie is sitting on my lap holding a piece of paper over the image on the screen. I apologize for any typos.}

And so, our case of MASCOT PARALYSIS continues…

{Think she’ll ever outgrow it?}

Married Single Mom

Sara — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:53:29 +0000

On my to-do list this week:

Learn to play the guitar.

This week I’m going to learn to play the guitar. First, I have to tune it, but just as soon as I do I’m going to write a song. A country song. An amazing country song about what it’s like to raise children & keep house as a married single mom.

Married & Single.

Coaches wives, you know this is true. Win or lose, home or away, in the Fall we assume 100% of household duties. On my list today:

Mow the lawn
Edge the lawn
Clean the garage {someone’s gotta do it}
Clean out the bunny hutch
Dip myself in Lysol

I’m not sure how my song is going to go just yet, but when it’s written I’m certain that Brad Paisley will want to sing it with me.

Family Time at the “Staten-Dum”

Sara — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:08:52 +0000

Yesterday, after a few hours of playing at the swimming pool under an unforgiving sun, she totally lost it. She cried and cried and cried… and for no reason that her almost three year-old self could explain. Then all was quiet – she was sound asleep.

When she awoke an hour later, she cried and cried and cried again…

“I miss my Daddy,” she sobbed.

She found the words.

::::::::::::::::::::::

This morning, Ellie came bounding down the stairs {completely nekkid} after a restful night of sleep.

“When is Daddy coming home?” she asked.

Little does she know that he actually *does* come home, but he leaves for work when it’s still dark and comes home hours after she’s gone to bed. Explaining football season is tricky this year, but luckily we can spend the morning at the stadium and get some water break hugs.

“Yay! Let’s go see Daddy and the footballs at the staten-dum. They got gatorade there?”

Salvaging family time has never been so creative…