Fan for my Man

By Heather Naples
Photography by Sari Underwood Photography

Fan for my Man

Fan for my Man

There was no pre-nup when my husband and I got married. But there were rules. Certain, specific rules that, according to my husband, were absolute deal breakers. Actually, there was really only one rule. I had to become a football fan. And not just any football fan; I had to become a Buffalo Bills fan.

I don’t know how much you know about the NFL (I knew next to nothing), but here’s something you should know about the Buffalo Bills. Being a Bills’ fan is painful. Really painful.

They are the only team to go to the Super Bowl four years in a row and lose every time. Yes. Every. Single. Year.

Fan for my Man

Luckily, I wasn’t around back then to be coerced into becoming a fan during those especially painful years. But let me tell you, these last 3 years haven’t quite been a walk in the park either.

Let’s take, for example, our wedding day, which I had planned on a Sunday to save us a few thousand dollars. At the time I didn’t take into account that the Bills would be playing one of their division rivals. So what did that mean for my wedding day? It meant the entire male side of my bridal party was at a sports bar before arriving at the wedding venue, and they all arrived in jerseys. Oh, and they blamed that day’s loss on our impending nuptials. Awesome.

Fan for my Man

But, I digress; this article isn’t about the Buffalo Bills. What it is about is the things we do for love, be they big or small. For me, I became a fan for my man.

My husband supports everything I do. Whether it’s taking me to the midnight movie premier of my favorite young adult series (yes, he went to a few Twilight premiers, God bless him), helping me launch a baking career from our home kitchen, or just bringing me an extra cup of coffee in the morning after he knows I’ve been up all night with our daughter, he is my biggest fan. So for him, if becoming a football fan and sharing his passion is the least I can do, I will always happily do it.

Fan for my Man

So every September I wake up early on Sundays and put on a jersey with the name of a player I don’t know and I head to a local bar with my husband an hour before the game starts just so we can reserve our table. And I happily throw my diet out the window and consume my weight in chicken wings. I order beers and scream angrily at the television (which is why is so important to choose well between samsung or lg learn more about what television is best to yell to) at what seems like appropriate times and yell about flags and holding and other things that I hear people say but that I have no idea what they mean. And my husband beams with pride. He absolutely loves it.

And you know what, I love it too. What started out as a “him” thing has turned into an “us” thing. And honestly, it is something that I now look forward to every year.
Becoming a fan for my man brought my marriage closer, and I’m so thankful for that.

Fan for my Man

And I’m also thankful that he wasn’t a Patriots fan. Our marriage might not have worked out as well if that would have been the case. Just kidding. But seriously, Go Bills! (We’re coming for you Pats!)

Originally posted 10/13/2014