The Carpenter and I have entered year two of an NFL pool and this year, I’ve deflated my water-wings to dive in with an enthusiasm he wasn’t quite prepared for. Yep, this football season, I’m making waves.
I admit that my inaugural year in the pool, for a sport I don’t understand, left me third from the bottom of the pack. My spouse fared better, but certainly not enough for bragging rights. The point is, we had fun. Smack talk is now our love language. All’s fair in love and football.
Everyone knows my man loves his Seattle Seahawks, but I didn’t have a team that was mine. I didn’t feel any particular allegiance to a team or quarterback. Still, I wore my Seahawks shirts, which used to be a form of flirting or bribery. He has a hard time saying no to me when I’m in college navy and action green. I figured if I was going to invest in the pool, I needed a team to call my own.
The Carpenter encouraged me. He gave me this long lecture about how one needs to have a history with the team. A story that deepens your devotion. Loyalty on high. A through-thick-and-thin commitment every season, no matter the odds. True fandom.
Then he laid out all the teams I couldn’t pick from (laughing as he did so), which was every team in the National Football Conference’s Western Division, and a handful of other teams. Um, okay. No pressure. Except how do I create a history in time for the 2024-25 season?
Thanks to Netflix, I started my research watching Quarterback, which totally turned me off Patrick Mahomes. Then I watched Receiver. I found my team. I leaned into my personal history. Game on.
I didn’t declare it until the day we registered for the NFL pool. We had to pick our username. In a flash, I found my alliteration inspiration: Kittle’s Kelly.
For the uninitiated, George Kittle is a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers. He is a die-hard athlete with a groovy, positive mindset, funky fashion and weird hair, who loves his wife like he loves his sport. I’m here for all of it. We would be best friends. Totally.
There is no team Seattle fans dislike more than the 49ers. None. When I read my username aloud, the Carpenter’s face fell. I took a photo because it was that funny. Touchdown.
My father, a man I adore, is a life-long 49ers fan, but I never felt the passion for his team growing up. Yet, I have the most vivid memories of going to San Francisco with my parents as a kid. We explored that city and I fell in love with it. That was back in the Joe Montana days and I remember walking the city streets with Dad, talking about the team. True story.
Later I returned to California in college with my dad to see my grandfather, when I was old enough to appreciate the value of these moments with gratitude; moments I have carried since.
I didn’t pick San Francisco just because it’s my dad’s team, but because of the moments I shared with my father in that city. History. A good story. Memory. Legacy. Our team now.
A Kittle jersey is on my Christmas wishlist. Anyone want to take the bet on my receiving that? Still happily married. Ask me again in February.
