Game Time Is Family Time: How Football Brings My Family Together

12.07.20
Game Time Is Family Time: How Football Brings My Family Together (Photo courtesy of Pratham Dalal)

As my brother and I have gotten older and much busier it’s almost impossible to find time to gather with the family — except when it’s time for Sunday kickoff.

We have a running joke in our family that after we finish our dinner at 7 p.m., my brother and I go upstairs saying goodnight because we often don’t see each other until the next day.

I find myself tallying the days it takes to get to Sunday the one and only day everyone is free to hang out. You see, my family competes in a football pick’em tournament where we try to select the winning teams from that week’s games. 

Every Sunday morning I go on ESPN to check out everyone’s choices. I give my family a presidential briefing about who picked who. 

As soon as the games start, I start pacing around the house worrying if my team’s coach will call the right play to win. I can’t afford to go down and face endless taunting from my brother. 

Nevertheless, no matter who wins, every Sunday is exciting to me. Because come Monday morning, we all go back to our busy, hectic schedules.

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