I LOVE Soccer Saturdays

I am the most non-athletic person that you will ever meet. I’m the girl who—when somebody throws a ball—steps out of the way with a head bob and an, “I’m not catching that!”

I don’t play sports, I don’t watch sports live and I most certainly will not watch any sport on television. Guess who I married? The athletic guy who watches every single sport.

It’s true, my husband loves every sport and he can have intelligent conversations about them. This always impresses me. I don’t get how he knows this stuff. When we were dating I never pretended to enjoy sports. I just read magazines and books while he enjoyed televised games.

True story: It was October something 1998. We had been dating for two weeks and we were having dinner. The guys sitting at the table next to us asked if we were interested in going to see a hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens. They were going to GIVE us their tickets. GRATIS. My future husband looked hopeful. I laughed and said “No thanks.” He was a gentleman and didn’t pressure me to go. He had only been in the country for a little over a month and did I mention that he loves sports? How about the fact that he had never been to a professional hockey game and now he will never get to see a hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens? He still rubs this in every once in a while.

Anyway, his first love is soccer and of course he’s a “Brit with a story.” He would have been a professional soccer player if only he hadn’t injured his knee and had to have his ACL repaired. Of course he would have been!

My husband will watch any sport. Soccer, football, rugby, hockey, basketball, baseball, darts, snooker and more. He’ll even watch curling—and enjoy it! This brings me to Soccer Saturdays. It is what we call every Saturday when my husband needs to watch The English Premier League (EPL). Three matches: 7:30am, 10:00am and 12:30. Heaven!

I know what you’re thinking, “Why does this crazy lady love that her husband watches soccer every Saturday?”

This is why:

My husband loves soccer but he’s not cray cray. He doesn’t need to lock himself in a room to watch soccer. He doesn’t scream at people when they interrupt him about menial things like, “Do we have any more milk?” He doesn’t cry when his team loses. (For the record, I have seen a Manchester United fan do this without shame.)

I love my husband’s Soccer Saturdays because he gets up at 7:30am every Saturday and he is ok with the kids hanging out with him while he watches. He will make them breakfast, build them forts and even bring me a cup of coffee that I can enjoy in bed. You see, since one of us is up the other one doesn’t need to be.

I LOVE Soccer Saturdays because I can sleep in EVERY Saturday, for as long as I want. SCORE!