How to survive college football season when you don't "really" care.

I went to NYU - no football team. We don't even have a campus let alone "school spirit". When I first met my future husband, a rabid Florida Gators fan, I was in for a whirlwind of a first football season...

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• a GREAT attitude
• Patience
• lots of team colored apparel

1. You see what I mean....these people REALLY like the gators. Perhaps you just aren't a sports gal (or guy). Maybe you went to a school with a big football team and just could never get into it. But now, for whatever reason, you have to. If you've never experienced the world of a devoted sports fan, ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING.
2. So you're prepared, you expect the unexpected. You have accepted that suddenly, the reason all your favorite shows as a kid were overrun by "some stupid football games" makes sense. LOTS of people are REALLY into this stuff. Maybe it seems really bizarre and strange, maybe it seems kinda fun, either way step two through going from ignorant to supporter is DO NOT EVER PASS JUDGEMENT. All I did my first season experiencing "Gator Nation" was look down on all those "insane people". Sure, supporting a team is cool, but my god, every single one of those people were "super fans", don't they have anything better to do? Yes, they do, they just enjoy supporting Florida so much, they choose to take one Saturday out of every week to go back in time, relive their college days, and be Gator Nation. DON'T PASS JUDGEMENT, just accept that this is how it is.
3. They even have Gator bars in CALIFORNIA! Once you have armed yourself to be prepared for anything, and have accepted that this world will not change and you can either find a way to live peacefully with it, or move on, you are ready for our final step. BECOME A SUPPORTER. That is how I refer to myself. I'm not a fan, I'm not a Gator, I am a supporter. I wear blue and orange when we watch the game, I cheer along excitedly when good things happen. Do I live and breathe by this team? Am I devastated if they lose? No, but I appreciate that my fiance and his friends are. So I support him. It's something he loves, so it's something I can support. Makes the months of August-November a lot more pleasant if I do! (And sometimes even a lot of fun...)

Tips & Warnings

• Seriously. Wear the team colors. If you wear the team colors, no one will question a thing. You could have never HEARD of football, but if you have maroon and gold on at a BC game, you're good to go.
• Try and have fun. Think of it as people celebrating something that was really wonderful in their lives for a period of time. Even if you don't know a thing about football, sometimes that's not really what's important.
• Don't pretend to be something you're not. If you are not a super fan, don't lie. If you don't know the difference between a tight end and the thirty yard line, acting like you do will only make watching the game miserable for everyone. Football fans know EVERYTHING. They won't be fooled, and you'll be miserable trying to keep up the act.