20 Ways to Spend Our Sundays (If There's a Lockout)

If you're like me, the thought of Sunday's without football is terrifying. For years, the NFL has been your safety. It's your excuse to not do the things that make you a more productive person. It's nine hours of your week where you don't have to do a thing but watch football, drink beer and gorge yourself on enough food to feed a tiny village in a third world country. 

We have to face facts, though. There is a chance that the NFL labor dispute won't be resolved by the time the regular season starts. So, instead of hanging our heads and entering into a depression come September, we need to revolutionize the way we enjoy our Sundays. 

So, if we are going to go without football, here are 20 ways to get through Sundays without the NFL. 

20. More Netflix

Your Netflix subscription is probably not unlike your gym membership: You were really pumped when you got it, and you used the hell out of it for the first couple of weeks, but now you've filed "going to the mailbox" in the category of things you are far too lazy to do. 

Well, now is the time to pick up that membership and find out why you're paying $13.99 for it. Get yourself interested in all those movies you wouldn't have wasted time seeing in the theater. 

Hell, try renting an artsy flick just to shake things up so the mail carriers knows that your intelligence doesn't stop at "Over the Top" and "Cliffhanger."

Of course, you probably won't watch the artsy film and you'll return it, bumping "Over the Top" up in your queue, but at least they'll think you have a girlfriend. 

19. Volunteer

This could be you aimlessly nailing things to a wall

So, remember how you tell yourself each year that you are going to "give back more?" And remember how that equates to a dollar more a week to the church, and throwing some more loose change at the Salvation Army Santa's every year?

Not exactly what you meant, but it was a start. 

Here's your chance to give back. Sign up to do something on the weekends. Sure, you'll drop the Sister's of the Poor Clothing Drive just as soon as Goodell and DeMaurice Smith come to terms, but at least you gave them a few good weeks of your time. 

18. Start Loving the Early NBA Games

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NEW ORLEANS - JANUARY 13: Baron Davis #1 of the Los Angeles Clippers dunks the ball against the New Orleans Hornets at the New Orleans Arena on January 13, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Hornets defeated the Clippers 108-94. NOTE TO USER: User exp

You know, while you've been busy the last few years in a football haze, you've been missing out on quality NBA games in the early season. 

Come on, who doesn't love a showdown between the Toronto Raptors and the Oklahoma City Thunder in game five of the regular season? Talk about excitement!

Just this season, for instance, you missed out on Baron Davis looking like he just got done at a Buffet for the first two months; Kobe, phoning it in as he was waiting for the playoff stretch; and the new look of the Cavaliers with Mo Williams as the powerhouse of the team. 

Just because you can't watch football doesn't mean you have to miss the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

17. Sleep More

Because why not? This is only if you are interested in slipping into a football-less depression. I say, if you normally sleep in on Sundays, and now have no reason to wake up, go for broke. 

Let's see just how long you can rest those eyes before your need to use the bathroom and feed yourself forces you to wake up. 

Have you ever woken up to a sunset? Nothing makes you feel quite as lazy and useless as starting your day when the rest of the world is ending theirs. 

So, if you have the time, get caught up on that sleep. 

16. Learn More About the WNBA

Alright, if I asked you straight up who's had a better WNBA career—Tina Thompson or Vickie Johnson—who's side are you on? 

If you said Tina Thompson, you're crazy. Vickie Johnson any day of the week. 

Look, you know you've been telling yourself that this is the year you go all-out for the WNBA, but every year you find something—ANYTHING—to distract you. 

Well, now it's your chance to make good on that promise and start brushing up on your WNBA knowledge. 

Are the Chicago Sky every going to find themselves in the title picture, and who do those Washington Mystics ladies think they are, huh? 

These are the burning questions you should know. So let's get moving and make Sundays your WNBA day.

15. Call Your Parents

Perhaps your parents aren't always the easiest people to get along with, but that doesn't mean you should exclude them. You need your parents. You never know when they won't be around one day. Or you'll need them because you owe a creditor $2,500, because watching WrestleMania on TV is nothing like seeing it in person, and that means maxing out the card even if you're without a job. 

So taking some time out of your otherwise pigskin-deprived day to pay mom and dad a phone call—or a visit would be nice for the relationship. 

14.Try Ultimate Fighting

I'm just kidding. Don't do that. You'll only get yourself horribly disfigured.

But you could watch more MMA. It's just like boxing. Only people get really bloody, it's over quickly and they have cool names like "Rampage" and "Brock" and....Bobby Lashly—okay, the last one isn't cool, but the first two are.

Either way, if you know nothing about MMA, it's a great time to get yourself immersed in it. There is a ton of content online, and Bleacher Report can bring you up to speed on all things MMA.   

13. Prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse

You think this is made up? No, no, no—it's coming. And it's not going to be viruses or a natural disaster the ignites the Zombies in a fight against the living—it's no football.

You better learn about your zombies. The only thing in this god-forsaken world that has kept the zombies from killing everyone has been watching the likes of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning go toe-to-toe on Sundays.

So, unless we can get the players involved in some sort of flag football league, we're looking at the fight of our lives here. Get ready!

12. Get into the MLB Hot Stove

I have two words for every despondent football fan in America: Winter Meetings. That's right, the hottest thing in the baseball offseason.

It's where deals happen. How else will you be able to hear about J.J Putz getting traded to the A's next off-season for a pitching prospect from Double A?

You need to take that football brain and bring it back to the MLB. Watch as the excitement unfolds. 

As a White Sox fan, I've been treated to years of winter moves like signing Shingo Takatsu, changing home game first pitches to 7:11, and signing Mark Teahan (I was more excited about the new first pitch time).

So, follow your MLB team like the rabid fan you are. 

11. Discover Magic: The Gathering

Forget the excitement of a Ravens-Steelers game. What could be better than getting an early mana draw, coupled with a couple of direct-damage cards, to put your opponents' black and white deck on its heels before he even knows what hit him?

Truth be told, it serves him right. He should know that playing a black and red deck means quick hits, and he should have compensated by bringing in small creatures earlier to absorb some of the damage. 

(Yes.....I played Magic. We will never talk of this again). 

10. Watch Hockey

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PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 05: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates during warmups prior to taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 5, 2011 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

No joke: Hockey is on during the football season. I had to look it up, because I thought that, after the Super Bowl, they randomly assigned records to the teams and made them fight for the playoffs based on that (which reminds me to send this idea into the NHL). 

Even if you haven't watched hockey before, now is the time to start. There is hockey everywhere. Just pick a city and start rooting. It's either that or watch Sunday 90210 Marathons on Soapnet.

9. Watch 90210 Marathons on SoapNet

Who needs football? What better way to spend your Sunday than in front of your big screen, bowl of Chili, case of beer, and an insatiable urge to watch Season 5 in it's entirety.

After all, it is the season where Donna meets Ray, Dylan has a drug addiction, and Kelly joins a cult and gets burned up in a fire!

(Full disclaimer: I consulted Wikipedia for those highlights, I swear! Maybe...)

Let's move on.  

8. Spend Time with Your Spouse

...I don't know what they are staring at

You really should. This isn't just for guys, either. Ladies, you may have a man who thinks that Cam Newton is either the guy who discovered gravity or a delicious snack.

Either way, giving your significant other some time to go to Home Depot, or just to have an actual conversation, will score you big brownie points down the road. Like next season when they find out you popped for the NFL package on DirectTV so you can make up for the football you didn't get to see this season. 

7. Learn About Your Gym

Here's something you didn't know before: Your gym is open on Sunday from the months of September to February. 

So, instead of sitting at home, why not take the time to discover the treadmill again? Nothing kills your motivation to workout more than the NFL, but not having it in your life now should provide you with no excuse. 

6. Start Projects You'll Never Finish

Re-shingle the roof? Of course!

Make the front yard look like that of a country club? I'm in!

Dig a garden? Why not?

Finally reattach the knob on your kitchen cabinet? Sounds like a plan.

There is nothing better than starting a project you have no intention of finishing. It's simple: Start three separate projects on three separate Sundays. Then, when anyone ask you about any of them, just tell them, "I'm gonna get back to it. I just wanted to think on it and make sure I'm going about it the right way."

You can keep up that charade well into the 2012-2013 season. 

5. Play Fantasy Football: Dungeons and Dragons Style

You can do this one of two ways. The first is to draft your teams and then use 12-sided dice to assign points based on a roll. Ray Lewis rolls a certain number, he gets a sack which is worth 2 points. You can do this for hours.

Your other option is to go super D&D style. You can have the aforementioned Ray Lewis as the head of Raven barbarians attempt to bring down the Evil Tom Brady and his offensive minions.

However, if you and your friends attempt this without food or beer (if you are of age), OR you spend more than 10 seconds deciding who's going to be Dungeon Master, ABORT MISSION! It's a dark road that you don't want to head down.  

4. Buy Useless Items on Ebay

If you can't fill your Sundays watching mindless sports programming, why not spend it buying mindless garbage off of eBay? Haven't you ever wondered what an Autographed picture of Betty White goes for these days? 

Do you own one single James Taylor concert tour t-shirt? 

Do you have three different sizes of waffle irons or just one? 

If your answers were "Yes," "No," and "One," then you need to get yourself onto eBay and stop just thinking about your dreams—start bidding on them. 

3. Golf Tailgating

If you live in a cold weather city, golfing is possible for about the first six or seven weeks of the season. If you live in warm weather, it's possible almost every week. 

So start taking advantage and do it up right. Skip the early tee times. Those are crowded, and often cost more money. Get a noon tee time and get there at nine for the beers and brats. 

Nothing says "Lets Play 18" like ingesting 2,000 calories before the first swing. 

2. Develop New Ways to Gamble

One thing that is going to leave football fans in massive withdrawal is their ability to gamble. Now, I'm sure no one is gambling illegally. It's all fun stuff for no money—just the thrill of victory.

But even still, there needs to be something to gamble on. 

So here's a list of things you can start a pool on:

Celebrity Death Pool—everyone draws the celebrity they think is next to go. If that's too morbid, you can try the Charlie Sheen pool—next celebrity to lose their mind. 

TV Show Pool—everyone picks a new or current show that will be the first to get canceled. 

Politician Scandal Pool—pretty self explanatory at this point. 

Either way, your penchant for picking winners and losers doesn't have to stop because the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns aren't playing. 

1. Live a Season Through Madden '12

Why do you have to wait a whole season for football? Just turn on Madden. Computer vs. Computer. Full quarters. Every five minutes or so you stop the game and talk about beer, food, and shows on FOX.

This is how you cope with a great loss in your life—you replace it as quickly as possible with the closest thing you can find, and hope you can block out the pain. 

A lockout doesn't have to mean the end of your life. It just means a different way to spend Sundays.