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Each summer around this time I start to get a tingle of excitement. All the NFL teams are in their respective training camps getting ready for the upcoming NFL season. Each day tidbits of information can be found on the internet about the camps, the players, the injuries, the surprises, the rookies, the game itself. Even though the NFL has only a 5 month season (6 months including pre season) you can not escape the game anymore. The anticipation of a new NFL season is more than one can stand. But that was not always the case, and in a way, I miss the old ways.
When I was a kid, growing up in the hills of Tennessee (not all hills but a few), there was no internet super highway, there was no 24 hour sports TV station, there was not even cable tv or satellite tv. There were 3 TV channels (maybe 4), a few radio stations, and that was it. So the only information I got about the NFL and my beloved Dallas Cowboys had to come from these venues. Sure I could have read a newspaper and gotten some more info but lets face it, reading newspapers in your youth was just not cool! The true absence of the NFL when I was growing up is one of the things that made early August so exciting. I can remember waiting all day just to watch the 1st pre season game (hall of fame game) and it didn't matter who was playing, it was football, it was the NFL, it was incredible.
Today there is just no escape from the NFL and even though I miss that rush of excitement for that first preseason game, I wouldn't have it any other way. The NFL even has its own 24 hour tv station (the NFL Network) available via satellite tv. You can get the NFL 24 hours a day, every day. That's a bit more than I need but I have to say I did enjoy watching a replay of the 2000 season opener between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys this past April. The Cowboys won of course, I knew the outcome before the game even started so there were no anxious moments but I was still smiling when Troy Aikman hit Raghib Ismail for a 70 yard TD pass in overtime to win the game!
No matter where you live today, if you have access to the southern hemisphere, you can watch your favorite NFL team play every sunday. The NFL ticket is probably the greatest invention since the forward pass. No longer do we have to wait for ticker tape displays of game scores to see if our team is winning or not. You can pick the game you want to watch, never missing your favorite team or players. Plus now, if you have TiVo, you can record, pause, rewind, and even watch 2 games at once, never missing a play, but missing all the commercials. For a football fan, this is truly 'Heaven on a bun'.
DIRECTV
 gives transplanted fans a chance to see their favorite teams play on Sunday, but there is truly no substitute for being at the game. I have been fortunate enough to see the Dallas Cowboys play many times in person. I have had season tickets on 4 different occasions (when I was close enough to get there, I drove), and for one season, I even lived
 in the Dallas area and didn't miss a home game, even though they lost 5 out of 8 that year at home. So if you get a chance to see your favorite NFL team play in person, don't pass it up, get your tickets and go!
 It's probably the best moment a fan could ever have. A lot of folks will tell you that their couch is the best seat, and it is a great place to watch a game, but even when I was in the nose bleed section of the Super Dome in New Orleans I could see things happening that could not be seen from the couch. When your in the stadium and the QB drops back to pass, you can see the receiver break open, you know he's open, you scream pass it, you know its going to be a big play, you see it unfold right before you eyes, your on your feet screaming just as the QB lets the ball go. These things cannot be seen from the couch, you don't know if the receiver is open until the ball (and camera) get close to the receiver.
Being at the game gives you a feeling of control, its strange but you feel as if you can contribute to the outcome the game just by being there, by screaming, by cheering. There just is NO SUBSITITUTE for being at the game live and in person! I have said this many times and still believe it today, I would rather be at the game, in the stadium, and watch the Cowboys loose, then sit at home and watch them win!
But that's what I do, I sit at home, in front of my TV on Fall Sundays, watching NFL on DIRECTV with the NFL Ticket, utilizing TiVO to allow me to watch multiple games, pause the game for restroom or snack breaks, rewind, replay at my own accord, fast forward through commercials. It's an all day affair and I love every minute of it. I am basically useless on those days. It truly does not get any better for a football fan. Call me a couch potato, that's ok. Call me a NFL junkie, again, that's ok, because if the Cowboys are winning, heaven on a bun, I tell you, heaven on a bun!
Marty Ogelvie
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