My husband follows the same routine every weekday morning. He pours himself a cup of coffee and sits down to watch ESPN’s “Get Up!” before beginning his work day.
Though I am not much of a sports fan and have even vocalized my disdain for a culture that allows rapists and abusers to continue to work in this field, I often find myself watching the morning sports show with my husband.
Participating in this morning ritual over the many years of our marriage, has enabled me to better understand the various goings on in the sports world. For someone who spends little time watching actual sports or following players on social media, I know a hell of a lot about team rosters, personnel squabbles, player injuries, pending trades and potential draft picks.
My husband appreciates my demonstrated interest in an area he is passionate about, and I believe this helps us connect with one another. However, the main way we bond over sports is in how we laugh about the amount of coverage ESPN, and in particular, “Get Up!” spend on the same topics.
They are, in descending order:
- Aaron Rodgers
- The Cowboys
- Anything related to the NFL
Do they talk about other athletes and sports, sure. I think they spend about two minutes on hockey now, because the Bruins are pretty decent. But rather than discuss why the Bruins may be the best team in NHL history, host Mike Greenberg and the rotating cast of former players and sports analysts use their platform to spend 15 minutes dissecting whether Aaron Rodgers will wipe his ass and use it as Rorschach test to determine where to play in the future.
Check out @GetUpESPN’s twitter feed for more proof that 90% of their content is about Rodgers and/or the NFL.
The repetitive, “Groundhog’s Day”-esque nature of this morning sports show has become a running joke between my husband and myself. We predict the talking points before they happen and make guesses on whether they will even cover certain big sports stories.
And for those wondering, yes, I have asked my husband why he continues to watch this show. In his defense, there is comfort in the familiar, and “Get Up!” does have some quality segments, such as Ryan Clark’s “Explain Your Tweet.”
Still, the bonding is over just how terrible the show can be.
I am sure experts will say you should connect with your spouse over more positive experiences. For us, our joy comes in mocking a ridiculous sports show.
We will continue to laugh over how much of a diva Rodgers is, and wonder if we miss when they used to talk all morning about Tom Brady.
We will continue to joke about the irrelevancy of the Cowboys, and how Dallas has sucked since Debbie did it back in the 70s.
We will continue to watch and raise our spirits over this very silly show.
Marriage means finding ways to connect and share interests. This might be an odd example, but it works for us.