Watching Michigan football - My "unhealthy" obsession

Watching Michigan football is great and all, but making a good impression with the GF's family likely would have gotten you MAJORLY laid.

remains as our coach, every season will just keep getting better. The dark years are over and there's nothing but great football and championships in our future! Everyone will give up everything to be at the game or watch it on television in a few years.

I’ve skipped family events, been late to weddings (that’s not the best come to find out), and blown off work to watch Michigan football. I can say that I’ve calmed down a bit in recent years because I just can’t put all my hopes in it anymore and retain my still happy marriage. Fights, arguments, and general mystified discussions have taken place, it’s amazing that many women do not understand this football addiction.
I totally get the OP, and it sounds like that girlfriend had a crazy family, so bullet dodged my friend.
Now, I will watch games from my phone on the golf course (a no-no for purists), but I try my best to not miss a game. This year is different though, I’m missing the Game to be on a Caribbean cruise, I think a week on vacation and having to watch from DVR is a good trade for me.

Shoot, even WD has changed his priorities. He's not posting on here 24/7 anymore, because he has a GF. 

half of the wedding pictures for my sister's wedding to watch the Michigan game in a bar next door.  I would note that this was '97 and I knew in mid October we would go undefeated so had to watch. 

 

Somewhat related note, my first wife insisted on getting married in March.  I did get her to agree to early March to avoid conflicting with conference & NCAA tournament. 

I have a bit of a different situation.

When I was younger, I always figured I would eventually get old enough that I would stop really caring whether Michigan won or lost a football game.  I mean, most of us have probably seen that Noam Chomsky bit where he's like, "why should I care?"  And from a logical standpoint, it's pretty difficult to argue with that.

But it's never happened.  Granted, I have gotten a little better about mangaging the pain.  I sill remember smashing the hell out of a favorite toy with a baseball bat (it was the blue Cobra airplane from the GI Joe line) when I was like 8 years old.  When I was in college and even law school I would drink massive quantities of the worst whiskey I could find (usually Old Crow) after a loss.  Eventually I just became irritable and would try and go to bed asap.

I am now 42 years old and still haven't grown out of anything.  Michigan losing a football game still gives me the same enigmatic combination of rage and dispair that it always has.  I think it's to the point that the only joy I really get out of a win is in knowing how badly I would have felt after a loss--and that I managed to avoid it.  Admittedly I love games against teams like Rutgers and Cincinnati for that very reason.

For this reason, ever since probably the 2009 season or so, I have often decided to DVR games and do something else to occupy myself while they are being played.  Then if M loses, maybe I will watch, maybe I will just delete.  I don't get nearly as upset just finding out that Michigan lost than I do actually sitting and watching it happen.  I still watch some of the games live (like Penn State this year--that was not a good decision).  But overall I feel like this is necessary to preserve my sanity.

So if the kids have an activity on a football Saturday, go for it.  Somebody getting married? Here comes the bride.  Thanksgiving Dinner?  Let's eat.  Hail to the DVR.

  

There is casual stuff that can be scheduled around watching games, and I can and will do this. I have some flexibility in when I accomplish tasks, and during football season those tasks have a strong tendency to take place before or after Michigan games. 

That said, there are things that are more important than football. Do I still pay attention and care? Absolutely. But three hours of watching football is not the most important part of my life. Events can come up, or life happens. I have obligations on Saturday mornings, and they do sometimes conflict with early football games (were I not going to Madison this weekend, I probably wouldn't be able to begin watching on tv until the second quarter, though I'd be following on a score app). That's life.

Last Thanksgiving I had an opportunity to spend Thanksgiving Day with family, including my 94-year-old Grandfather whose memory is being dissolved by dementia. Going down to Michigan for that meant driving back all day Saturday (10-12 hour trip), which meant trouble for the Michigan-Ohio State game. 

So I subscribed to Sirius XM and listened to every moment, instead of watching it on tv. Would I do the same thing again? Even if Michigan had won? You bet I would. 

 

For many years, I haven't watched games in real time unless I'm there in person. Too much of a time sink ...

It helps that there are usually so many options (every-snap videos or at least something that's more compressed than the 3 1/2 - hour business) for catching up afterward.

I skipped a first date to watch the OSU game last year. No regrets. At all.

Some of these are tough to read.  I really love Michigan football, but has it ever loved me back?

This isn't even about prioritizing sports over family.  They're not celebrating the holidays on the correct days.  That's incredibly annoying.  So you gotta do extra holidays every year for the rest of your life?  No thanks.  Sounds like torture.  You're lucky to get out of that situation.

I tell people right from the start. If you schedule your wedding and you want me to be there, make sure it is neither on the Saturday of Michigan-Michigan St. or Michigan-Ohio St. The same goes for family functions.

So a few minutes ago. my sister told me Thanksgiving is at her house on Saturday instead of Thursday. And for the Trouble with the Snap game two years ago one of my best friends had his wedding. 

They don't listen very well.

2013? 2014? They all blend together. My brother quit his job at DQ on the 2nd day bc he had to work during the game.

With technology there's no excuse to miss a game. I went to two weddings this fall and spent most of the reception streaming Michigan on my tablet. It's amazing how quick you make friends when you're the only one streaming a football game. 

Wedding ceremony in 2011 because of the damn weather delay against western Michigan. Finally they called the game and I hauled ass to the wedding. Best part was it was a beach wedding and by the time I showed up it was over and everyone including my wife were walking to the reception. Nobody had a clue except obviously my wife so that was awesome!

There is usually only one or two games that may come into a conflict with a significant obligation. Events like birth of a child/grandchild, health of a loved one, marriage of a very close friend, relative and/or loved one.  All those things take precedence and make UM DVR appropriate.

General family gatherings?  Either they have the game on or they will be without my company for 3-4 hours.  My wife has ZERO issue.  There are not many things in my life where I am a little selfish.  My wife, when she make plans will always ask me what time Michigan is playing.  She knows that is 3 - 4 hours out of my week for 12 or so weeks out of the year where I just want to pace the floor, tell the T.V. how much more I know than our coaching staff and yell an occasionally obsenity.

At the end of the day, everyone needs to have a little something in life that is a healthy escape. And Michigan football is my escape. 

This is a fascinating question. In my case, I was able to set the schedule this coming Saturday to avoid a conflict. I am officiating at a memorial service, but scheduled it so that there would be no conflict with the Wisconsin game. It is great when you get to set the schedule. I pretty much blocked out 11am - 3:30pm CST. However, regarding the reason why, I only indicated a "scheduling conflict."

I also prioritize games. For me, MSU, OSU, ND, PSU are important games. For the rest, if I miss, I miss. And even for the more important games, I sometimes can live with missing them. For many years, I was on the road driving back home to the Chicago area from Cleveland on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Now, in the car, we would be listening to the game on the radio. But yeah, I wasn't going to stay in Cleveland later, or leave Cleveland earlier, just so I could watch the game.

It also matters at least a little bit how Michigan is doing. As much as I enjoy Michigan football, it really didn't matter as much to me while RR and Hoke were coaching (except maybe for Hoke's year 1.) When you anticipate the Wolverines being slaughtered, it matters less. I remember a couple years ago when Michigan was playing Alabama. I officiated at a wedding, and the game was on at the bar during the reception. Needless to say, I didn't mind very much missing most of the game. It was barely a game.

My kid's schedule was also more important. When my son was playing football, well of course I was at his games instead of Michigan games. And on the rare occasion my oldest daughter is on leave from the Navy, I will gladly miss a Michigan game. In her case, she typically wouldn't mind me watching, and might even sit down for part of the game. She was watching the PSU game while in Norfolk while I was watching in Chicago last month.

I am old enough now to enjoy Michigan football, and to prioritize it, but not to lose sleep when I can't watch or listen. As has been said, there are lots of more important things in life!

Wife’s childhood best friend’s son is getting married this Saturday at 1pm in a tradional Catholic service (i.e. long with communion). So going to watch kickoff and tape the rest. Sneak peeks via iPhone live updates. Then watch it after the reception. When it is your wife, unlike a girlfriend, you got no choice but to be by her side. Good news is she will want the updates as well and won’t mind the sneak peeks ... I just hope the priest doesn’t catch me ... Go Blue !

Dvr all the way. What's a few hrs anyway? Fast forwarding the bullshit is a game changer ( no pun intended ).

My wife hates sports, and is always horrified to watch me watch Michigan football, as I rant and rave at the flat panel and generally morph into a complete mouth breathing berzerker.  It all came to a head in last year's OT debacle at OSU when Samuel somehow ran around our whole team into the end zone... and I practically broke the coffee table slamming my fist into it, in front of our guests - LOL - a man has to get his frustration out!

This season it has been impossible to watch games live...the missus has been brilliant in her ability to sneak big and little events and getaways into our weekend schedule. Same thing next week: I'll be in Chelsea visiting my 85-year old mom; and just days after we booked flights to D.C. the Friday after Thanksgiving to visit the grandbabies, my season ticket holder sister who lives in Chelsea offered me her Ohio State ticket for free.....SMFH!

I was 12, I attended every home game and watched most every road game from then until I graduated from Michigan and moved out of state for work. I've sinced moved back to Michigan and attend a game or two a year (working weekends is rough y'all) but I am nowhere near as commited to watching every single moment like I used to be. This year, it breaks down as follows:

Watched entirely: Florida, Purdue

Attended: Air Force, Michigan State

Gave up midway through: Penn State

Everything else has been kind of hit or miss, I try to watch it but life kind of interrupts more than it did when I was younger. Part of it also may be that the games against the Cupcakes just don't entice me like they did when I was attending them. Growing up is weird.

Wife wanted to get married the same day we played Notre Dame in 2011. She obliged an we were wed before the season started. We are still married.

I do the same and I've been married for ten years. My family and her family just  know how it is.

 

The reality is that it's 12 (and thankfully now 13) Saturdays a year. Unless you have a ton of other time consuming hobbies or work all the time, your spouse, friends, and family should accept this one passion. My wife kind of does, as long as I'm not too angry/ depressed after losses.

I mean an average golfer or tennis player or video game player or (insert hobby here), spends way more time than die-hard Michigan fans.