Sideline Grandma: Football for all

We're a football junky family who for the past 50 years has been despairing, disgruntled and annually disappointed as Detroit Lions fans.

Years ago we learned to cope with penalty flag frustration using the "No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie" technique. By rummaging through the pan drawer for a sauce pan, then beating the oatmeal into the syrup on Sunday afternoons we found an escape from penalty flags and dropped passes. When yellow flags go a flying someone was probably going to end up in the kitchen.. Quite often this would be Sideline Grandpa who makes a really great cookie, he's had a lot of practice.
The Lions were pretty good at winning in the preseason giving everyone a "this is the year" glimmer of hope but once September's Sundays hit the roar was gone and they found every which way to lose.
Perhaps the Lions have run out of ways to lose, as they've been winning.
(she said, quietly, so as to not get expectations up).

Last Sunday I suggested to Sideline Grandpa that we buy a bottle of champagne just in case there's something to celebrate this year. We could keep it for that big win, maybe a league championship or the.. Su.per... Bo.wl... hush my mouth.. don't even say it.
There's just one problem with that idea, we don't like champagne.. well, actually I don't know if we like champagne since we've never tried it.
So Crystal Light will do.. with ice, maybe we'll add club soda.

And now to our youngest grandson who was born last Dec. 10.

It was a Friday.

The Detroit Lion's record on that day was-- 2 wins - 10 losses.

Daddy, our son #2 is holding Mr. Bundle of Smiles who was one day old here .. and had not experienced the excruciating emotions of being a Lion's fan at this point in time. He didn't know how many coaches had been hired and discarded.
He had no idea of the theories of why Detroit could not win.
Perhaps the Ford family was too closely aligned with evil, maybe it was a curse.
Was the acceptance of being on the bottom and awarded the #1 draft pick every year ingrained far beyond change?
The identity as the losers was cause enough to drop passes
and blow the lead in the last 2 minutes.
Is this why Michiganders have an obesity problem? Are chocolate oatmeal cookies part of our problems statewide?

"Hello world,, they said my birthday would be on Christmas!"

Two days after this baby was born, on Sunday December 12, the Lions won a football game. We joked, Little Smile Bundle is 1 and 0!
To this date, Oct. 2011, they have continued their winning streak, the Lions are now 12 - 0 in Little Smile Bundle's lifetime.

Now we face a major milestone; Monday night football this week is a home game against the Chicago Bears.
Little Smile's daddy and uncles will be there, the second generation of Lion's fans who were taught and lead into this fanatical obsession by their dad. Oh how they love it.
Wonder how long the winning streak will run, we hardly dare imagine.

One thing I need to do before Monday evening and that's check our oatmeal, peanut butter, sugar and cocoa supply just in case the yellow flags start flying.

Sideline's football MVP's of the year..