March 19, 2007

Dateline NBC aired a hidden camera episode on Sunday March 18, "Honey You're On Hidden Camera!"
Julie Cohen, Dateline producer describes the show this way.
All across the country millions of innocent wives are caught in a love triangle, battling for their husband's attention with the players of their favorite sports teams. Now, in a "Dateline" hidden camera challenge, the wives are fighting back by catching their unknowing husbands on videotape while they watch a game. Josh Mankiewicz travels from coast to coast to report in, "Honey, You're on Hidden Camera," on Sunday, March 18, 7 p.m.

There are some long held beliefs that are not to be trifled with.
A hard man is good to find. Don't shrink your man's peanuts.

I am going to get some heat over this but I thought it was unfair to point fingers at these pretty average guys who were taking a little time to enjoy their passion, football.
I think it's true that some men tune their wives out during football season.
But if my football Sunday (or Thursday or Monday) is disrupted, then there's holy hell to pay, and I'm not a man.

Ladies stop the whining and learn the game, you will have fun and the man in your life will appreciate it. From my side of the sofa I don't see a downside to hanging with a bunch of guys, drinking beer, eating food and watching football, beats the hell out of knitting doilies.
There's always the alternative for the football non-aficionado, take the day off, go jogging, go to a movie, go visit a friend or go to the local bar.

I was pretty surprised that the men didn't get caught with their hands down their pants, or their fingers up their nose. I was really amazed that they didn't let the F-bombs fly freely, because that's pretty typical of how I operate on Any Given Sunday.
On second thought maybe they cut that out of the tape!

Let's meet the Ultimate Sports Fans featured on "Honey You're On Hidden Camera"

Paul Rice - Green Bay Packers fan living in Colorado .

I thought this guy took the prize. His wife calls him husband-head. I like it, he fits the part perfectly. When he watches the games on Sunday and runs out of beer he shakes the can in the air so she can fetch a fresh brew. If mrs. husband head tries to talk to him during the game he tells her to "stop it". If he can't take it anymore and needs to distance himself from his harsher comments he channels them through a Halloween skull, and talks through "skully". Mrs. husband head is pretty football clueless which seems to add to his anxiety as she asks stupid questions, especially when the Pack is losing!
For crying out loud, I feel your pain bruddha.

Bob "Hopalong Bragalone" The Cowboy Fan.

Bob's mission in life is to indoctrinate everyone around him about the Cowboys. He is also trying (has been trying for 7 years) to teach his wife the game of football so that she can share in his fanaticism. I got the feeling that if she hasn't gotten it yet, she's never going to "get it". But he tries valiantly.

Bob has turned his home into a Cowboys shrine. Seriously this guy has a whole room covered with cases full of Cowboys memorabilia including life size players' dolls.
When Mrs. Bob tries to get him to do something for her, he negotiates with her to keep her off his back. He is really adept at saying things like, "one more minute honey", "okay wait until they score", "okay next commercial". The guy's a lawyer and it shows.
He says his wife is a "sacrificial fan!" No doubt.

Holy Batman it's the Borg Brothers - Minnesota Vikings Fans
The Brothers Borg have their very own version of the Bat Cave , it's called the Man Cave .

Every Sunday (and probably Monday and Thursday) the Borg Brothers go down to their sanctuary below the house and enter the Man Cave . There they can focus their complete and undivided attention on football. The Man Cave has three televisions and two laptops. There is nothing, football related being transmitted over cyberspace that the Brothers Borg don't know about.

To their credit, the only time they left their Man Cave without complaining was at the request of the wives is to do something for the kids.
Had that been me I may have had to go a round of rock, paper, scissors before checking on the rugrats!
But when it comes to the wives asking them to take out the garbage or perform other household chores while the game is on the line, well, there's no denying how that will turn out. However, in the end, once the game is a lost cause the men seem to "see" their wives again.
The ladies (in Vikings jerseys) cozy up to them and use their version of a hail mary pass to finally get their men's attention.
The Brothers Borg are now ready for a new game plan.

Last but definitely not least is Jerry Vecchia, True Blue G-Man

Here's a record that should be memorialized by Guinness, not in the record book, but at the local brewery.
Jerry Vecchia wears nothing but NY Giants team apparel every - single - day - of - the year!

That's even more anal then Bob Hopalong's Cowboys collection.

How do you go through life wearing Giants apparel every day? I think the NY Giants should give him free season tickets; he's more than paid his way by marketing the brand.

Mrs. True Blue patiently tries to carve out a spot in her man's life. But he's totally immersed in his G-Men. I felt a deep connection with him as he tried to watch the game on TV as his wife, kids and dog all got in the way; he craned his neck, changed positions but never lost sight of the screen.
But the best part of Jerry's fanaticism and his most endearing quality is his strong belief in superstition. If the Giants are winning he will not let his wife move from the spot she's in because that might jinx them. He tells her, "don't move and don't change positions".

You gotta love these guys. They weren't cruel or mean, they were simply trying to do what they love to do on Sunday. Watch football without being interrupted.

Ladies let them be and please don't shrink their peanuts.

The Other Side of the Story

Football Fanatics and the men who love them

The other side to this story is partially told by Jen Brown of MSNBC.com.

Jen interviewed me about female football fans as a "rebuttal" to the Dateline story on male fans and their widows. The truth is there are many women who are as passionate about their football as husband head, Bob Hopalong, The Borg Brother and Jerry Vecchia.

Want proof? Click on the link below for the entire article and meet some women who are serious football fanatics.

Football fanatics and the men who love them

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17662505/

To read more about the Dateline show, "Honey you're on hidden camera"

Click below.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17639886/

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