Contributed by RL
This week we are seeing the start of the college football season (https://www.ncaa.com/sports/
With BYU leading the following then Idaho State University, UNLV, Wyoming , Boise State, Utah State and University of Utah a close second, we even have a University Nebraska fan in our mist.
Its hard to imagine that this fun all started back in the mid 1800's. The first game was actually played on November 6, 1869 between Princeton and Rutgers. Of course the game was far different from the ones played today. And we can thank Walter Camp for this turn of events in the football arena. He is considered the father of modern football because Camp was instrumental in establishing the 7 man line, the quarterback, a fullback and two half backs not to mention the other innovative changes he oversaw in his day.
(https://www.britannica.com/
More colleges entered the challenge of football as the popularity of the sport caught on. One of the lasting memories from football that has been immortalized is a game played between Notre-Dame and Army in 1928. This game was even made into a popular movie called “Knute Rockne – All American” with one of the movie's catch phrases being used in America slang for quite awhile, and later it even became a political rallying cry. “Win one for the Gipper!” (http://archives.nd.edu/
Of course as the game became more popular football moved into the professional stage in 1895 with a game played between the Jeannette Athletic Club and Latrobe YMCA clubs. Which paved way for the first professional football league which started in 1920.
That league helped lead the way for our own current NFL (https://www.nfl.com/) with such teams as the Bronco's, Patriots, Cowboys, Packers, 49er's, Vikings and a host of other teams which we can watch almost any day of the week. (Remember no betting.)
Along with all this football watching comes the tail gate parties and snack food for us couch warriors who gather around the TV to watch the games.
One of our office staff, Robin, likes to warm up during a game by having a good batch of Hot Chocolate, since the games are usually played in the fall thus hot chocolate, for the crew that invades their home during the season. Robin likes to add vanilla ice cream to the hot chocolate to give it a little extra kick. When she gets bored with that added flavor she will add in a little peppermint or a cinnamon stick. But when feeling really wild she will add Freeze dried strawberries or freeze dried bananas to the mix. (Of course if you want to go to the dark side, she says, just add some gummy bears.)
Other favorite goodies among our little community of football watchers are; Buffalo Wings, Sloppy Joe's, Navajo Tacos, Chile, Nachos and sandwiches. One of these that we favor at times is a Home Made Nacho Supreme that one can throw together in a few minutes using a few items from the pantry shelf that can be purchased from Rainy Day Foods and the rest are probably found in your refrigerator. First off you are going to need a bag of Tortilla chips (no home should be without one), some re-hydrated refried beans, a can of either Chicken or Beef Chunks (any meat will do or you can go meatless, it works either way), Freeze Dried Cheddar cheese, Freeze Dried Monterey Jack cheese, garlic granules, Real Salt, onions, pepper, sour cream and Mango Habanero Salsa. This recipe looks a little daunting but it is basically pretty simple. Just grab a microwave friendly container then pour those chips in to cover the bottom then cover with the re-fried beans sprinkle a little chicken on top of this with some onions and garlic granules, salt and pepper then spread over that with some Mango Habanero Salsa completing by covering the layer with the Freeze Dried cheese. Then do another layer on top of the first the same way that you did the bottom layer. Microwave until the cheese melts (steam from the beans, salsa and meat should make this happen) remove and top with the sour cream and more of the Mango Habanero Salsa then serve. My wife likes to add a little chopped lettuce from the garden after microwaving. You could also add some sliced jalapenos and some more cheese if you like. Add that with some hot chocolate or other drink of your choice, turn the TV to your school game then sit back and enjoy!
As we watch our college football team come onto the field we can feel the win in our veins as the school band plays our school fight song; we're drawn into the excitement of the upcoming game as we start tapping our feet to the rhythm of the band. Dressed in our school colors we check the stats, Wyo has a win, the boys in the plant shake their heads, Naaman's, from the office, team has scored the first team win, now they are hoping to even up the team score board with a few of their own teams winning this week. Keep that grill warmed up; the season is just beginning!
So no matter which team we are cheering for, we will always score with our favorite snacks while watching the game. Suddenly! Jumping up, spilling that hot chocolate on ourselves, our team scores! “Win one for the Gipper.”! 'Til next time RL