I love my family, but I wanna watch the game!

I know, 'tis more important to cherish precious moments with one's non-football fan family during the holidays, but why do I hafta miss the Eagles/Cowboys game?

So I'm not perfect. I "let" my son turn on a football game while we were staying out of town with my mother, and I found myself resorting to peeking over Mom's shoulder and into the other room, trying to glimpse a mirrored reflection flickering onto her glass china cabinet.

Alas, I will not, as it suggests at www.ivillage.com/femalefan, experience the pairing of candy canes and chicken wings this Christmas. I have a feeling I am not alone. Happy Holidays, and may all your TiVos run smoothly.

Football onscreen and off

I went out in the backyard for a game of catch with my son after the second quarter of the Broncos/Chargers game, and didn't see Cutler make the plays that brought Denver back in it for a while, but what I did see was that call to go for it on 4th down with over 11 minutes to go in the game! The risk was just too big, the way the Chargers offense was playing. That's when I got the feeling that Shanahan was just fine with throwing the season away.

My son is 8 and we're at the point where I can throw a football as far as I want and he'll catch it. It's all well and good now, but if and when he wants to join a team I'm going to have some anxious times ahead and hope he doesn't get hurt.

My husband is not exactly a football widow, but I have to admit I enjoy knowing more about the game than he does. I don’t think I show off too much. I mean, know Keyshawn Johnson played with the Jets, Cowboys and Bucs before he joined the Panthers, but I can’t tell you what a “cover 2” is..

Here’s one I just recently noticed. When the referee stops the play with a yellow flag the penalty will usually go against the offense. When a flag is thrown and the play is allowed to continue, it’s because the offense will have a choice to accept or decline the penalty after they’re finished.

At www.ivillage.com/femalefan, I read about a couple of fellow California Girls who went to freezing Soldier Field for that game against the Vikings, and met some awesome Bears fans, so I was really pleased to get to see Hester and Grossman strut their stuff on Monday Night Football last night.

To me, all the replacement talk about Rex Grossman, even after last week's performance, just seemed absurd. Lovie Smith didn't have to point out to me that they won the game, that they only had two losses on the season. Those are the most important facts, and questioning replacing the QB against those facts makes no sense. The media started it but the public made it bigger, and then we hear last night from the MNF booth that Rex has just been beside himself about it, that he really is trying to figure out what's going on. Is his thinking too much? Or is this just adding fuel to the fire of a media and public that want to mess with an athlete's head?

The Bears can drive the ball, are explosive on special teams and have a fully conditioned defense. It's too bad we don't live a world where that gets a chance for purer expression

Is Keyshawn Johnson a Hall of Famer?

Joe Theisman posed the question last night on Monday Night Football. To me there's no doubt. He's got his Super Bowl win with Tampa Bay, and he's creeping up on reception records held by Jerry Rice and Marvin Harrison.

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Oh, the frustration of that Lito Sheppard interception! I have always been a Keyshawn fan, and that hurt. Small mercy the refs let his helmet-launch slide without a yellow flag. Was there a touch of sympthy, humanity?

Broncos start Rookie Jay Cutler

Last week I felt sorry for Jake Plummer being replaced. This week I feel sorry for Jay Cutler coming into a tough situation. But I was impressed with Cutler's confidence. They almost won! I think he will become a strong QB, just tough to watch the rookie throwing the ball up for grabs and tripping over his own feet.

www.ivillage.com/femalefan puts up contenders for Sunday Night's Sexist players, and this week I voted for Cutler simply because of those sad post-game puppy dog eyes.



What is up with the blame game this season regarding quarterbacks? Bledsoe and Plummer lose their jobs midseason, and now the media is after Chcicago Bears' Grossman. (Okay, it was a good idea to take out Bledsoe, I give you that.) But I've got to hand it to Lovie Smith for standing behind Grossman when the press keeps hounding him about putting in Griese. The Bears are 10-2, and if it's all about winning, then don't rock the boat! Sure, Grossman makes mistakes, so sometimes it's going to have to be the defense or special teams stepping up, and thank goodness for that this week.