NFL Football is On!

Alright folks, the 2011 NFL season is on. Please be warned that the first pre-season game is scheduled for August 11. Over the next few weeks, the NFL will try to cram the business usually done over the four – five months they have lost. Expect your fan to be tuned in to their preferred news outlet from now through the end of August. Here are a few articles that will help you understand a few aspects of the New Deal.

What is coming the next few weeks:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/07/25/free.agency.frenzy/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a1

What the agreement has outlined:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/07/25/nfl.deal/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

The season match-ups and a bit more on how that is determined:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81d70273/article/2011-teambyteam-opponents

Schedules:

http://www.nfl.com/schedules

Smack talk

A quick word on smack talk. You have probalbly heard the adage, “you can dish it out, but you can’t take it”, smack talk definately falls in the scope of this adage. If you are not familiar with football, I encourage you to refrain from smack talk for the first season. Smack talk can be personal and rather crass. Fantasy football smack talk is known to get particularly nasty.
My fan and friends have been dishing a lot the last few days, just one more indicator that the season is quickly approaching. So, if you hear your fan and friends getting into verbal sparring matches, fear not, it is all part of the culture and “fun” of the game.

Stop fighting over football!

It is July 14th, there is a heat wave sweeping the nation and at least 40 days until the first scrimmage, so why am I writing about football?  Well the season rosters are out, this year’s ea sports video game is about to hit stores and your fan is already thinking about it.  Have you walked in on them watching last year’s playoffs game on tv?  Have you seen the sports websites open on their computers?  It’s coming, the question is, what are you going to do with this season?

Are you going to:

A. Fight over every hour they are hooked to the TV/Sports Radio/Computer?

B. Enjoy the time they are yelling at the screen to catch up with your friends?

C. Turn irritation into intimacy by sharing this passion with your fan?

D. Some combination of B and C?

E. Find someone new who doesn’t like football

If you chose E, good luck to you, there is nothing I can do to help you.  Though I encourage you to reconsider.  Football fans are a passionate and loyal lot.

If you chose any other letter, let’s chat.  You have an opportunity to start your season off on a great footing.  No matter how long you have been with your fan, each season has the sense of new hope, new opportunity and the potential for being a year for the record books.  

One of the key areas of friction in any fan, non-fan relationship is scheduling.  The season may be short to the fan, but it can get pretty long for the non-fan.  Scheduling friction can be avoided with pre-season communication. 

First step, figure out their favorite team and their least favorite team.  This is a pretty simple task, you can ask or you can look at all of the paraphernalia that is lying around.  If they have a beat Bama flag flying it is pretty safe guess their team is in the SEC.  (more about what SEC stands for later).

Second step plug your fan’s team into your preferred search engine and ask for the schedule for the season.  Print it out and put it on the fridge.

Third step, get out your social calendar for the fall. 

Fourth step, find an evening you are both free, order in your favorite treats and schedule your season.  Let your fan know what dates you definitely need their attention.  Let your fan tell you what dates you will not be their primary focus.  

Fifth step, put all the dates on a central calendar.  When a compromise is necessary, circle the winning event in ink.  This way if you or your fan develop mid-season amnesia about Aunt Susie’s 80th birthday party, it is right there next to the away game at rivalry U, with the circle to prove which one will be getting the nod.

Sixth step, figure out the last weekend before the season starts.  Schedule a great date weekend.  Pamper yourself and your fan and most importantly, enjoy their undivided attention.

Best wishes for a great pre-season.