Flying Flags
Originally published on 01.27.15 at The Stiletto Gang.
I had to laugh when I read Debra Goldstein’s post yesterday about football being “only a game”. I live in Washington State, which, in case you’re living in a hole, is home of the Seahawks, contenders the upcoming football high-holy day – the Super Bowl. Although, even when living in a hole, I’m fairly certain that you probably felt the Beast Quake or possibly Richard Sherman dropped by to tell you how awesome he is, and then probably stuck around to make pointedly blunt statements about the corruption in the NFL. Football may be only game, but tis the season for every football fan everywhere to lose their dang minds.
As I’m only an occasional football watcher I find most of the fan-actions a bit mystifying. Twelfth man flags decorate every building, a local tattoo parlor is offering a 12’s tattoo special and last game against the Packers the Seattle City Council banned cheese from the premises. Like Debra, I say, “But it’s only a game!” Not that I say that very loudly – my husband would glare at me.
But also like Debra, I identify with the way fans pour over every detail, dissect plays, and watch every report on the subject. A fan, no matter the subject, wants to know all about the thing they love. So I don’t wave a twelfth man flag, but the books on my shelf tell their own tales (pun intended). Anyone visiting my house knows where I stand on the topic of Lord of the Rings (pro) and the work of cover artist Thomas Canty (also pro) and Tintin (highly pro). I don’t have any tattoos, but I can quote The Walrus and The Carpenter – it’s tattooed on my brain. And as for cheese… no, sorry, I have nothing there. Cheese is never banned at my house and neither are books.
Am I the only “12th Man” uber book fan out there? What “flags” are flying on your bookshelf?