Easy Steps to Enjoy NFL Football Every Sunday of the Season

If you are a football fan, Sunday is probably a ritualistic day for you. I find people do certain things so they don't jinx their favorite team. Whether you believe in curses or not, there are some things necessary to make the day a great day of football.

Start the day on a good night's sleep because the day is long and sometimes stressful. Preparation is key so that your enjoyment is not spoiled.

First and foremost, you need a team to root for. It may be a local team or a team close to where you live. It may be the team that your significant other loves. If you want a lot of drama during the day, choose a rival team of your significant others favorite team. This is sure to spice up the vocabulary of the day and the tension in the room as your living room is filled with rivalry and competition.

Secondly, it is good to know something about the game. To truly enjoy the game you don't have to know every fine point of football, but it would be good if you know certain things such as:

• How many downs there are. (4)
  
• How many yards it takes to get a first down. (10) (First downs are good.)
• Which goal your team is headed toward. (It changes during the game)
  
• Key players for your team such as the quarterback (the guy that throws the ball), top receivers (the guy that catches the ball), and linebackers (the guy that blocks the other team)
• How many points are scored with a touchdown(7), field goal (3), safety (2), KAT (1)
  
• Key penalty types (Offsides, holding, pass interference etc.) This is important so you have the enjoyment of yelling at the officials. This is a time-honored tradition.
  

Where you watch the game is also important. I believe a couch to be essential whether it is in a living room, family room, den or basement. It provides room for several members of the fan group and allows for shifting into various positions as your team progresses or doesn't throughout the game.

The television is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the plan. How can you possibly be a coach potato without the essentials for watching the game. In the case of the TV, SIZE DOES MATTER. The bigger the screen the better and high definition will let you actually see the sweat on the players so you will feel like you are right there in the game with them. DVR can be important if someone had to use the restroom and missed a crucial play. Cable is a minimum with NFL LIVE a plus in order to monitor the progress of games all around the country. You will notice that HD large screen TV's go on sale right before the Super Bowl. Keep that in mind for budget planning.

Food should be planned in advance. Otherwise, you will need a pre-game or halftime runner. If you forgot to plan ahead, send the person with the least amount of knowledge about football to the store. We all know that there will be a line at the check-out as the other runners gather for last minute purchases so they will probably miss the kick-off. Half-times runs are imperative if you didn't plan for drop-in guests or hungry fans. Again, because of other non-planners, the lines will be long and they will miss the start of the second half.

Finger foods are a must. It's very difficult to prevent food from falling on the floor with all the jumping up and down that occurs during a game. After all, you will be fulfilling the roles of an arm-chair coach, quarterback, and official and need to make the appropriate calls after you see how your team screwed up a play. So, some suggestions for food during the game include:

• chicken wings (a football staple)
  
• chips, dips and salsa
• veggies and dip
• cookies/brownies (chocolate is always a plus for soothing trials and tribulations of the game.
  

You want to have all foods set up in the viewing area so that no one have to miss a play in order to get more food. Missing a play can create chaos in the fan room.

Let's not forget drinks! Drinks are important part of the Sunday ritual and everyone has their favorites. Make sure you poll your crowd before the day of the game so that you can not only have the drinks on hand but have them chilled. Just in case you live in a state that does not sell alcohol on Sunday, make sure you get your alcoholic beverages ahead of time. A game can be ruined when there is no beer to help get through a tough game. So let's review some typical drinks to have on hand:

1. Soda, pop, coke - call it what you will for your area of the country. This is a must.
2. Beer - If you have a crowd and your team has been losing, have plenty so that the fans can drown their sorrows. If your team has been winning, plan for more beer so that the fans can celebrate with yet another victory. KEY: HAVE PLENTY
3. Coffee - There is always the ultimate coffee drinker in every crowd. Have a pot brewed at the start of the game.

• Milk - Only for the younguns. Afterall, this isn't racing.

Halftime food can be more substantial. Chili is always a good choice. Bowls are easy to carry around while the fans recap the first half with their other arm flailing. You can be sure that the officials did not know what they were doing in the first half of the game and it will be reviewed throughout halftime.

Make sure you are aware of any specific rituals that have occurred for years. If you don't adhere to those rituals, you can be the entire cause of the team losing. At my house, we are Indianapolis Colts fans. (Yeah, be jealous because we have Peyton Manning but don't be too jealous since every other key play is out with an injury.) We have Colts gear that we wear for the games. If the team loses, those items MUST be washed before the next game to "wash out" the bad luck. I have a friend who has to drive around his neighborhood twice during halftime to smoke a cigarette. He says that the times he hasn't, his Redskins have lost.

The point is: DON'T MAKE FUN OF RITUALS. That is serious stuff.

Be prepared for the channel surfer. Don't get annoyed by it or say a word about it. There is always another game going on and even if it is not a team followed, everyone needs to know what is happening in their division. Heaven forbid you end Sunday in last place of your division. Horrors!

Blankets! Have them. People get worked up during tense moments of the game. Once they settle down again they may be chilled. Why do you think they have Snuggies for every sports team?  Pay attention people!

Make sure you have the TV on early enough for the Sunday night game to see Faith Hill introduce Sunday Night Football. What Sunday night game could start without at least one fan trying to sing and dance along with Faith after having a few too many beers. By the way, this can be an entertaining moment. Have the video camera ready.

Last but not least.....and this is a very important part of the plan. Make sure you have plenty of toilet paper. With all the beer drinking and food eating that goes on for the entire day, you will go through plenty. Now I am not saying that the fans are full of....well, you know.

I'm just saying...be prepared because Monday night football comes after Sunday.