Whiplash

Remember yesterday when I was talking about Brian Boitano and his great recipes? Well brace yourself for a completely different subject: Pro Football!

I'm really more of a baseball gal. However, the sound of football in the background of a house means fall is here and that always makes me happy. I used to like football a bit more than I do now. These days pro football often seems to be an endless series of interferences and penalties. When I was a kid I remember watching games that actually moved along without constant ego trips erupting on the field. And that awful grandstanding after a touchdown? The worst! I always think, dude, you just did your job so settle down. I also wonder what would happen if I did a little dance after each successful meeting I had? How obnoxious.

More recently I had adopted the Green Bay Packers as my football team of choice. A good friend is a fan and taught me about them while I helped her adopt the LA Dodgers. I like the fact that the Pac is a publicly owned team and that they still play in an ancient stadium. It's old school and I like that because it reminds me of the football from my childhood when I'd hear Dad shouting "TOUCHDOWN!" from anywhere on our cul de sac.

Tonight I went to my brother's house for a family bbq. While there, Michael and his wife turned me on to a new reality show called Hard Knocks. It's an HBO reality show/documentary that follows a pro football team and it's rookies during training camp. This year they're following the Cincinnati Bengals. We watched the first episode and I really liked it. It features the business side of pro football and all of the heartbreak. Man is it harsh! I watched as player after player was cut from the team. Oh, and there is no skirting around the cutting process. A couch comes to the cut player's room at the crack of dawn and basically says you have 24 hours to get signed, if you aren't signed then you are a free agent... good luck with that. When one rookie asks why he's being cut, the coach says "We always cut players around here because of ability. I'll need your play book." Ouch! That would be like HR coming to me one morning and saying "You suck. Give me your laptop."

I also learned that The Cincinnati Bengals is a family run team. That alone makes me like them. Then I found out the Bengal's EVP is a woman and I was sold. She's seriously tough. She happens to be the owner's daughter but, again, it's a family run business and she definitely knows the biz.

I've always enjoyed a good behind the scenes pov of an interesting business. I like Deadliest Catch too and I'd have never guessed that about myself. Macho men are NOT my idea of a good time even on tv but DC and HK are both so entertaining. I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed Hard Knocks. Even more surprising is the fact that I plan to watch rest of the episodes on demand. I may even root for the Bengals this year. Who knew?