Football Widow

Football Widows Unite...Bye Week is My Week!

August 27, 2007 7:44 AM | 3 Comments

The first time I saw the letters B-Y-E, they were on a basketball schedule distributed by one of Austin's coaches earlier this year. (A refresher, Austin is my active 9-year-old son). When I saw the word B-Y-E, I called my sports fan husband Bryan to decode it. As Shakespeare penned, "Parting is such sweet sorrow." But parting can be good. In fact, BYE may be one of the most beautiful, inspirational terms a Sports Widow could ever read. A recent contributor to sportswidow.com, who is a football fan, reminded me of Bye, but also pointed out its power. Keith just could be my Deep Throat, providing rare insights into the mind of the Sports Fan. I wonder if he will agree to meet me regularly in empty stadium parking garages and share the shocking truths about his kind, shed light on the perplexing labyrinth that is the sports fan's mind? Then, again, perhaps he'll just keep writing. That would be easier, wouldn't it?

Here's an excerpt of what Keith wrote, after he complimented how I look in a Cheesehead. He may be a fan, but he knows the importance of flattery.

There are 17 weeks in the regular NFL season. Every team gets a "bye
week" when they do not play. Note your fanatic's team, find a schedule
and learn the bye week. Launch a campaign --
"Bye Week Is My Week!"

When the bye week comes, have plans for something else to do. The
opera? Figure skating? Yard work? He can't say "My team is playing,"
although I guarantee his team's arch-rival is playing.

So, taking Keith's advice, I plan to find out when Bye Week is. Now I have to figure out what to do about it. Family time, couples time, honey-do's...So many choices.

What will you do? BTW, if you want to hear Keith and his wife Melinda, we had an amusing interview with them on our Sports Widow Radio show.

Sports Widow Tip:
I always plug in my kids' game schedules in my Outlook at work so that I can plan for them. Since my day job as a marketing communications consultant requires me to work Monday - Thursday, 9:30am-6:00pm, sometimes I have to jiggle my schedule so that I can make Austin's games. Now, I'm thinking I should do the same for other key games - professional and college - so that they are on my radar screen.

For up-to-date schedules and team stats, check out these helpful sites:
National Football League (NFL) Schedule
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Schedule
Major League Baseball (MLB) Schedule
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Baseball
National Basketball Association (NBA) Schedule
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Basketball Schedule
NASCAR Schedule
National Hockey League
All Sports on TV
Sports on TV Weekly Planner

The Sports Widow
(aka Nan Hall)