Sundays Without Football

There was a time, not so long ago. where my Sundays were occupied with feast, frolic and ample libation. But, as fun as it was, I really didn't get a whole lot accomplished (Unless, of course, you consider gnawing on chicken wings and guzzling beers is an accomplishment). Since I stopped watching NFL games a few weeks ago, my productivity level has increased dramatically.

For instance, on my first Sunday without football (from here on out, this will be referred to as SWF), I closed my swimming pool. Normally, I would pay a pool company $300-350 to do this. But with my newly found day of freedom, I decided to close my pool myself this year (with the generous help of my brother-in-law).

The second SWF brought me an opportunity to catch up on my neglected yard work. Normally, I wait until the HOA knocks on my door. But now that I have Sundays free, I ride around on my lawn tractor like I'm John Deere himself. (OK, I actually have a Craftsman lawn tractor but who's keeping score?). Additionally, I had a chainsaw that was striving for attention for the longest time. So, I found the time to fine tune it and I now have it purring like a rabid kitten.

Mixed in with everything else, SWF has also opened up the door for more Sunday tennis. I'm no longer rushing off the court on Sundays to make it home by kickoff. While the NFL players are taking a knee, I'm working the bugs out of my recently repaired knee.

All of this has created a positive side effect: weight loss. In the past three weeks, I'm down about 10 pounds. This is, no doubt, the result of an increased activity level coupled with the absence of traditional fried football food and adult beverages. The most strenuous activity during a football game usually involved me walking to the refrigerator for a fresh Landshark.

I thought SWF would be a tough pill to swallow. But, to be quite honest with you, I really don't miss it that much. My work schedule has consumed the majority of my free time during the week. So, it's actually nice to have a full Sunday to catch up on things. Or on the rare occasion when I'm "choreless", it's nice to have the day to just kick back and watch "Breaking Bad" reruns.

Although it seems rather silly now, I used to actually plan things around the Raven's season schedule. Not anymore. Now, game day has the same emotional attachment as Arbor Day to me. I think the smart people would refer to this as apathy. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Looking at my current situation, I kinda wish the NFL would have pissed me off years ago!

kw