Jillian Approved: Humor, News and Nonsense

One of the good things about being married (so far anyway) is the different perspective your partner can potentially offer. And I say “potentially” in case you are a part of one of those twosomes that ALWAYS agrees on everything…. if you are, just know that I’m not sure if I should despise you or feel creeped out.

I offer you an example:

I’ve been a football fan for the past year. I root for the San Francisco Forty-Niners a.k.a the NINERS a.k.a The Fuckin NINERS (yeah, 2007 was not our year). To prove my fandom I bought a Jersey, a DVD of their complete history, and a book that explains football. Cuz c’mon, you can’t be a fan and NOT understand the game. ah ha!

Anyways, before I realized the Awesomeness that is football I used to say terrible things like: “I can’t believe these guys are paid to play a game… it’s ridiculous!” and “These idiots are so overpaid… and what do they do again? Wear tight pants and pile on top of each other for some stupid ball??” and also “Football is boring and stupid… it’s dumb to pay people to play a sport when the real heroes (i.e. teachers) are vastly underpaid…”

So you see, my main complaint was that these athletes were overpaid. And I suppose my secondary complaint was that they were being paid to play a game. And of course a third complaint was they were being paid obscene amounts of money.

So… yeah, I was such a hater.

I used to be fond of getting into heated debates as to why professional sports were dumb and why I would never support them. I fancied myself an intellectual (don’t ask why… because to be honest I didn’t even finish college… and I’m really not that smart). I believed in a system where the mind was rewarded, NOT physical agility.

Well, one day I was having one such debate with my husband (who was at the time my boyfriend… or maybe he was my fiancee. I’m not sure and it’s really not important for the point I’m trying to make) and a fellow co-worker of ours. Well, my husband (who was then either my boyfriend or fiancee) said something to completely shut me down. And when I say shut down I mean I was absolutely speechless. You know how you’re having a conversation and someone introduces an idea that’s completely viable… and you’re so astounded by it you stop mid-action and emit an audible “ahhh”?? No??? Well just imagine it then and it will give you some idea as to how I felt.

Anyway, the thing my husband (at the time my boyfriend OR fiancee) said was (and this is as close to a direct quote as I can get): “Jill, you’re worth whatever someone wants to pay you.”

Wow.

Even now I can’t run from the truth of that statement. All those years hating overpaid athletes and the system that allows it, torn to shreds by one simple statement.

I mean when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If people are willing to pay… why not take them up on it? If someone offered me tons of money to pick lint out of my bellybutton I’d do it… I’d think they were weird, but being weird doesn’t stop your money from being green.

Now this brings us to other such “services” people are willing to pay for… like prostitution and the like. I’m going to completely avoid this most taboo of subjects and just say it’s a personal choice.

So yeah… it’s good to have a partner with a different take on things. I find that my soapbox gets a lot of use in my everyday life and it’s good to have someone that knocks me off it when I get to “into” myself.

I also didn’t mention that I played in three fantasy leagues and a Pro Pick ‘Em this year. I came in second in the Pick ‘Em (of course there were only 4 of us and one guy didn’t participate the whole season… so really three of us) and in one of my leagues I came in third place. I often log onto yahoo and look dreamily at my virtual bronze trophy.

So… yeah… I love football. I like being apart of something that’s bigger than myself; I like knowing the stats of the guys on my team; I like wearing my jersey in public; And I like the feeling of wanting to beat ass when some loser insults one of my guys.

It would appear that that one statement caused me to let go of my hate for pro sports and become a fan myself, but… that’s not the case at all. That statement merely brought an end to my days of being a hater (and yeah I hated everything about pro sports from the way some fans get too involved to the huge amounts of cash the athletes are paid).

How and why I became a football fan is another story altogether, but that’s neither here nor there (where is it then? I haven’t the slightest).

RANDOM QUOTE:

From “The Office” (British version):
Gareth: I can read women. You’ve got to know their wants and their needs. And that can be anything from making sure she’s got enough money to buy groceries each week to making sure she’s gratified sexually after intercourse.