I'm just going to say it: I don't care about football. I understand the rules of the game, I am just not interested in it at all. Sports are always on in my house. It really doesn't matter what kind, they love them all. Coming from a family of sports fanatics this dislike for football has been difficult to deal with. However, over time I have found copious ways in which to spend my time while my family has been hypnotized by the various Boston/New England sports teams.
(This is pretty much me whenever a game is on, sorry!)
1.) Binge watch "Shameless"
While your family takes over the television in the living room, grab your laptop and open up Netflix. Currently, Netflix has the first six seasons of Shameless on there. It's oscar nominated, has an award-winning cast, and almost has 5 whole stars on Netflix. It follows a drunk father and the six kids he neglects to raise living on the south side of Chicago. Expect craziness and lots of sex scenes.
2.) Visit a museum
When the big game is on, public places tend to be empty. Try going to a nearby museum or zoo. There most likely won't be lines and you can spend as much time as you'd like at each exhibit.
3.) Try out a new restaurant
As someone who is a waitress, restaurants (unless it's a sports bar/restaurant) are usually dead when a big game is on. Restaurants aren't going to close for a game so expect no wait and quick service. Tonight (Saturday night) the restaurant I work at was open until 11:00 PM but I was sent home at 9 due to how dead it was. So take the opportunity to treat yourself (maybe take a friend who also doesn't care about the game) to that new restaurant you have been dying to try.
4.) Read a book
When was the last time you read a book for pleasure? Mine was about three weeks ago when I decided to reread the Harry Potter series, but I only ended up reading the first book and the first two chapters of the second one because I had discovered Shameless.
5.) Clean
Stay home and clean! Play music as loud as you want and clean your room. Go through your closet and find items you should donate or throw away. Go through old drawers. You could find some pretty interesting things you thought you had lost forever ago. I still have some Seventeen magazines from 2007 I could probably get rid of.
6.) Go to the game with them
This last one isn't about avoiding it. It is about accepting it, spending time with your family doing the things they like, and having fun. Even though I don't follow sports (the Red Sox are my only exception to this dislike of sports) I love going to the games. It is always a blast even if you don't really like the sport. The food and drinks are over priced and the floors are always sticky, however, the atmosphere is amazing. Everyone around you is always happy, excited, and rowdy. Whenever your team earns a point everyone gets up on their feet and screams. It's fun to get into it and enjoy the good times. And since you don't care about the actual sport, just the energy, the end result doesn't matter and you aren't effected by it.
With the football playoffs happening and the Super Bowl less than a month away, it is time for the annual American obsession with football to kick into full gear. Prepare yourself for lots of faked interest in the game and constantly overhearing conversations of sports highlights from the previous night. Take this time to find those that also couldn't care less and do things you want to do. Take advantage of everyone staying home to watch the game and do something fun!
