Rise and Shout, the Barbers are Out!

Last weekend, after my visit to Vegas, Jim and I hurried home because we had people coming over to our house that night. It was the opening weekend for College Football and the BYU Cougars were playing.

When I married Jim, I knew he was a sports fan. Shortly after meeting his family (one girl, and SIX boys!) I knew that sports, and competition in general, was deeply ingrained in most of the family rituals. I did the math and this is how it turned out:

Winter=Jazz
Spring/Summer=Baseball
Fall=Football

But not all football is created equal. They do love the NFL but they REALLY love watching BYU Football!!!

So, for the opening game we had most of the brothers (and a nephew or two) over at our house watching the Cougars in the theater. Here are just a couple of thing I love about watching the Barber Boys watching BYU Football together:

• Their "outfits" usually match - I think there is enough BYU clothing in the family that all 40 of us could take a family picture together and be wearing something with a Y on it!
• The cheering wakes babies - There have been countless times when something great has happened in a game that has either woken a sleeping baby or just scared them so bad they burst into tears.
• It promotes family togetherness - It is hard to get men to bond but it seams that if they are passionate about SOMETHING, even if it is college football, they will have meaningful conversations, get together often and like each other more.
  

Plus, I love being the hostess. I love to make yummy food to share. I especially love to hear people tell me how yummy the food is. that happens less and less with my own family so I have to bring in extended family to hear the praises.

So, there are some bright sides to football season starting. The priorities shift a little with the changing seasons but there are also opportunities that open up now that the weather is cooling off. And as I post this, I can hear Jim down in the theater hollering at me to come down and sit with him. There's a game on...