Sports Widow

The Sports Widow Playbook: Scheduling "The Big Games"

September 24, 2007 6:24 PM | 0 Comments

Everyone always says that the cobbler's children frequently have the shoddiest shoes, if they have any shoes at all. (I think many of them just wear sweatersocks.) So, you could surmise that - while The Sports Widow can talk a big game - she may not always heed her own advice.

To counter any such accusations, I decided to employ one of the more controversial survival tactics from my Sports Widow Playbook: Scheduling "The Big Game".

I asked Bryan if there was a particular game he wanted to watch this weekend. Note the emphasis on particular, which infers prioritization versus the equal-opportunity-I'll-watch-anything-that-moves-and-appears-to-be-competitive impulse. He said there was a Seattle Seahawks football game at 1:00pm on Sunday and a UW Huskies football game on Saturday afternoon, so we struck a deal. I agreed to take the kids to our local zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, in return for my fan 1) doing the grocery shopping AND 2) giving me time to myself this evening. Touchdown, baby!

When I left, Bryan was looking chipper, folding freshly laundered clothing (we live in the land of the continuous wash/dry cycle) and watching the game in the livingroom. En route to the zoo, I passed Seahawks fans tailgating along the railroad tracks south of Qwest Field. After exploring the zoo, Kit (13), Austin (9), Caroline (7) and I stopped by Alki Beach to see if we could spot a seal pup whose mother has been in the habit of daily stowing it on the shore while she hunts in Elliott Bay. As we approached the taped-off location above the pup (intended to keep a safe perimeter around it) and the seal sitters, who were taking shifts to guard the pup (this is Seattle, you know), a man in a wheel chair, wearing Seahawks paraphenalia, rolled past us and gleefully announced, "The Seahawks Won: 21-24."

Phewwww. THAT was a relief. The outcome had been haunting me all afternoon.

When I returned home, no progress had been made on the laundry folding, but later on I had a fully stocked kitchen and some time to myself. Now, that's a WIN-WIN situation.

They may not happen that frequently, but I try to savor the times when The Sports Widow and The Sports Fan live peaceably (I'm preparing myself for the MLB playoffs and World Series). Does this ever happen to you? If so, when and how?

For up-to-date schedule of Big Games, 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