The Tale of the Blind Quarterback

For as far back as I can remember, football permeated my house hold, especially college football. My father was and still is, the biggest fan and the most knowledgeable person I have ever met in the subject of football. My fathers team of passionate choice (and now my own college team) is the Oklahoma Sooners (OU).  Every Saturday during the fall was Football Saturday. Our kitchen was littered with a buffet of what my father referred to as "football food" everything from burgers and hotdogs, to little smokies, chips, queso, cheese and crackers and beef stick, anything that qualified as football food, could be found on our counter top, grill, dinner table or stove top. On a Saturday in the fall, it was not the time for seeking fatherly advice, or asking Dad to help with homework, Saturday was football day always and forever. So, I'm sure you are assuming, that I joined my father in his passionate watching of football... No I did not. Well, maybe I at least kept up with the games and new what was going on, even if I didn't actually watch a game... didn't do that either. I did not know what a quarter back was (other then the most popular guy at school) , had no clue how to pick up a new set of downs, and indeed, had no idea in the wide world of sports what a down even was. This was not because I hated football, or had anything against it, this was because, I thought it would be difficult for a blind boy to keep up with such a visual game like football. Perhaps I should have lead this post, with the fact that I was borne completely blind, well... I was borne blind, but this blog is not about my blindness. Because of my lack of vision, I did not know how I could follow a game such as football, therefore, it never appealed to me to try and learn more about it, so, I would go the next 28 years, caring nothing about football, even though, living where I did, in a football town, and living in a strong football household, I was surrounded by football every day for my entire childhood. Let us fast-forward 28 years to today. I am now married to a beautiful woman, and she just gave birth to our first child, my beautiful now 16 month old daughter. We moved to Kansas City about a year and a half ago, for it is much easier for a blind man to get a job in a place like KC. Before moving to KC, I informed my wife, that I wished to develop at least a working knowledge of football, for I knew that Kansas City was strong Chiefs country, and I wanted to be able to at least have conversations with other people concerning football. I expressed this interest to my father, and requested that he tooter me in the ways of the pig skin and the grid iron. He agreed, and after that there were at least 3 or 4 sessions over the phone that typically lasted well over an hour. After a few of these sessions, I felt I had a general knowledge of football and could understand and discuss it at some length, I decided it was time to listen to a game, but I had to solve my original dilemma, of how to watch or listen to a game and no what was going on. "Why don't you just listen to it on the radio?" suggested a friend, "The play by play commentators would make it to where you would be able to follow what was happening, as long as you have a working knowledge of football." So, I downloaded a football radio app for my talking phone, and one Sunday night in August, I settled in to listen to the preseason game of the Chiefs versus the Packers... and that was all she wrote, the fat lady sung, game over man, or game just beginning, in a simple phrase, I was hooked. "I'm only going to listen to about fifteen minutes or so."  I told my sweet wife. "I can't see myself listening to all three or four hours of any game ever." and as the old sane goes... famous last words. Perhaps, by marrying a blind man, my wife hoped she would dodge the bullet of being a football wife, unfortunately for my bride, this was not to be, for ever sense that night, I have devoured all things football, both college and NFL, at an alarming rate. My football teams of choice are the Kansas City Chiefs and for college, I am a passionate fan of the team from where I am originally from and my fathers team, and that is the Oklahoma Sooners (OU), however, I have become such a fanatic, that I will listen to a game between two teams I care nothing about, just to quench my thirst for football. My wife handles all of this beautifully however, reflecting the wonderful person she is, by making all kinds of football snacks and buying and dressing our 16 month old daughter in Kansas City Chiefs onezies.  Now, it is the football drought, which is the months of February to August, in which there is no football to be had. During these months, I keep up with all football news I can find. I follow the draft, recruiting and all other football matters you can think of, and that brings us to the crux of this blog. This blog is not about just college football or just NFL football, it is about FOOTBALL and everything that would be included under that heading. Lets talk college, lets talk the NFL. If its in the middle of the season, and you want to talk about the game last night, then look no further then right here, or if it is the off season "the football drought" and you need your fix of the grid iron, then look no further then this blog. If your a fan of the Chiefs, Patriots, OU or Alabama Crimson tide, pull up a bar stool, and lets talk some football. I will be writing my passionate rants and opinions on all matters football, from up coming games, to the outcome of past games. I will rant about the politics of football, scandals, news updates and everything in between. I strongly encourage comments of all kinds, except comments on my horrible spelling. of  All this being said...ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???!!!