Girls Raised In The South Growing Up On Football

The south is Sunday church, fried chicken, sweet tea, and corn bread. It's a place where pigtails and pigskin are more the rule than the exception and where daddies expect their little girls to dawn their colors and know the game.

It seems that the day I was born I was initiated into a world of red and black. I just assumed that it was supposed to be that way. I wore red and black whether it be the falcons or bulldogs and by the time I was 2 I knew that 10 yards was a 1st down and screaming was a common thing on Saturday.

I know that there are girls up north who love football and that isn't what this is about. It's not to argue that southerners have more loyalty or like football more. It's not to argue superiority, it is simply to state a fact. When you are a girl raised in the south football becomes a way of life.

My dad hasn't been a perfect dad. He made plenty of mistakes and broke my heart a million times at least. Yet, when I look back over my childhood those bad memories are replaced with the good ones, the ones between the hedges, with silver britches running up and down the field.

Over the years I have become a football aficionado. My brother is impressed with my knowledge and my dad has somehow fallen behind. My dad calls me to ask about new players and future recruits and to get updates on the team. During the game we call each other to talk about what has transpired and we both know to leave each other be after a lose.

That little gift my dad gave me some 33 years ago has given me a bond with him that only football could. I know that it may seem a little crazy to some but what the years have stolen from our relationship, football has restored.

So, on Saturday's and Sunday's in the south there is one thing you can be sure of. There are little girls sitting in a recliner with there daddies, pompom's in hand, building memories. Football is more than just a game it's a bond between daddies and little girls.