If you’ve been following my Instagram closely for the last few months, you may have noticed quite a bit of football content. It isn’t necessarily new, but it’s frequent enough that it has been brought up to me.

“When did you become such a fan? I didn’t know you were into football.”

“I’m not. I’m into the Seahawks.”

Growing up, my family has always been a fan of the team. Younger me couldn’t have been bothered, but what else could you expect from a kid who wanted to just read and play dress-up? High school football games were just a social outing for me. I loved getting indulged in the games. Yes, at times, I might have got injured and perhaps thought about visiting an athlete recovery center near me, but those wounds and injuries never really bothered me much. Instead, I became more fond of football. I ended up at a university that wasn’t even D1 for the longest time and even then, we still didn’t have a football team. I had this question myself recently – “when and how did I actually start liking football?”

It was when I moved to the Bay Area. I rejected Bay Area sports and didn’t want to become a fan of the 49’ers just because I lived here. It was the thing that I did with both Mandi and Eric and their love of football trickled down to me, but mostly, it was the thing that bonded me back to my hometown. Despite moving away, it was the thing that made me feel connected to my family and something that we could relate on. Originally, 2013 when I decided on this, the transition was rough. Coworkers ridiculed me on being a band wagon fan and that I didn’t know the rules and sure they weren’t wrong. There are a lot of rules! Luckily, I’ve picked up a lot over the last few years. While i’m not on the level of those in the office who love their Online sports betting and fantasy football and the like, I am still proud of what I do know.

But here’s the funny thing about sports. People love to tease and bully you for it if you don’t come out of the womb loving it. Sometimes it doesn’t happen that way and that’s okay! We can all learn to embrace it when it makes the most sense for us. Today, is our last home game of the regular season and while I’m excited to see where it might lead for us, I’m also ready to get back to my Sundays!