Opening Day

Hey kids! Guess what I did yesterday. I'll give you a hint:

Yes, I got to see the Patriots season opener. Now I'd like to begin by apologizing to all of you who started reading me during the off-season, when the blog was foufy and girlie 100% of the time, and really could care less about football. But I promise that there will be plenty of girly, foufy posts to go around. And football season is only six months long.

Now back to the football. My friend Tara has Jets season tickets, and brings me with her every year for the Patriots game. I really love that about her. There have been years when the New York game was in December, and we were all wearing six layers, and it was almost too cold for beer. Don't worry. I said almost. We New Englanders are hearty. But on years like this one, well it's about as perfect as it gets. Wearing shorts and tank tops, sipping beer (I would never guzzle. It's not ladylike). And the first game, when the weather's gorgeous, well that just brings out the competitive tailgater in each fan. Who has the most elaborate setup? Whose tents are highest, flags are biggest, horns are loudest? Who can stake out the best spot, and cram the most stuff onto it? My friends got there at 7:30 to claim their turf. They've been refining the process over the years, and at this point have accomodations that might be nicer than my apartment--2 tents, a television, 3 coolers, a grill, tables, folding chairs, a bean bag toss game that's fancy enough to attract passers-by. I'm not going to lie. I feel cool just being there. We had snacks and steaks, chili and shellfish, a platter of sushi, and someone brought a small keg. Now that they've put in trailers with flush toilets for the girls, I could happily live in that parking lot.

And that's all before the game even starts. There's something about the energy of walking into a stadium on any game day, but especially opening day. Everyone's so hopeful, so positive that this could be the year. The crowds are chanting. Guys are hugging, shaking hands, slapping one another on the back. They've all become friends, sitting together in the same seats year after year. They have the whole off season to catch up on. Who got married, whose wife is expecting a baby, who lost weight. (Okay, that last observation was all me and Tara. The guys don't notice shit like that.) Oh, how I love the energy.

Of course, then the game started. The Patriots crushed the Jets. The energy died right quick. If you look at the picture up top, you'll see that pretty much the whole stadium was empty by the middle of the fourth quarter. Even my friends left me there alone to watch the end of the game. But you know what? They're going to be back there in 2 weeks for the next home game, hauling out their gear and cheering on their team with all their hearts. Oh, yes. I love me some football.