Football for Dummies by Howie Long

I have memories of sitting next to my dad at Candlestick Park, eating chocolate malt ice cream, and watching the 49ers play. This was the 80s, so they were probably winning as well. Now there's no more Candlestick Park, and no more 49ers winning games. So we're left with chocolate malt ice cream.

I've always had a general understanding of how the game of football worked, but I decided this football season to actually study the game. Hence, the reading of this book and the studying of the game.

By studying the game, I am talking about watching a lot of football, both college and professional. We're talking about six games last weekend (three college and three professional). That's a lot of football!

I came downstairs last Saturday and asked Boomer, "Who's playing today?" Boomer responded, "Do you know how many men in America would love it if their wives wanted to watch football all weekend?" Well, I even watched more than Boomer. During the third college football game, he gave up and went to do other things around the house.

I can't watch the 49ers though. I have to watch games in which I have no skin in the game. So college ball it is along with whoever else is playing on Sunday.

Anyway, this book is a great introduction to the game of football. I now understand the positions and what to look for at the line of scrimmage and during a play. Watching is way more fun now that I know what to look for. There's still much more for me to learn, but there's still a lot more of the season to go!

By the way, my study of football has been a great conversation starter as well. I was at the bank this morning taking care of some business and the banker guy asked me if I had any plans for the weekend. I said, "College football." And boy did he light up! He started telling me about plays that I would only see in college football and started describing the triple option to me, diagrams and all.