Cabin Chat: Football Weekend Nachos

When I was a five year-old in kindergarten, I discovered I was forever part of a football family.

Before then, for a short time, weekends meant rolling out of bed the moment my eyes opened and racing downstairs to watch back-to-back episodes of The Osmond Brothers and The Jackson Five.

Well, it was all short-lived.

In those days, a devout Catholic school girl who was forced to get up early each day and put on her plaid uniform and white blouse before battling her five sisters for a pair of matching navy socks relished the one morning when she could peacefully eat two or three bowls of sugary cereal with a prize at the bottom of the box, take in the line-up of Saturday morning cartoons, and stay in her pajamas without inquisition until noon.

I remember it well, so I must have enjoyed that dream a handful of times before it all came to a crashing end. Eventually, not far into each Saturday morning, I was routinely plucked away from my animated joy and stashed into a station wagon with my clan of eight brothers and sisters.

Now I questioned this practice, but, like the cherished Baltimore Catechism, the unambiguous answers were kindly swift and concise:

Q: Where are we going?

A: We are going to see a football game.

Q: Why do we have to go?

A: Because your father is a high school football coach, and we need to support him.

In the beginning, I thought the boys in green and gold that my father coached were playing the same team week after week. Even as a kindergartner, that seemed pretty pointless to me ~ this is why I can’t watch Donny Osmond again? Did we not just do this whole thing last week?

But, as I learned my colors and gained a sense of time and geography, I learned that the teenage boys my father impassionedly coached each week both travelled to and welcomed Pennsylvania teams from different places all in search of one goal: to work their hardest to be the best on a fair and honest playing field.

Now I could write a book about the entire forty-four years I spent as the middle child of a high school football coach who reluctantly received every accolade imaginable at every level from local journalists, area coaches, an entire community, the Keystone state, and the national realm.

And, because of the one man’s faith, vision, and hard work, I have been blessed to be at black-tie events and witness the spirit of Vince Papali, hear the voice of Harry Kalas, and drink in the wisdom of Tim Tebow ~ among others.

Though undoubtedly cool, it was never these big names that mattered ~ not to a man I proudly call my dad.

What mattered were the names that most of us will never know.

I ultimately learned that my Saturday morning loss of never watching Marlon, Jermaine, and Tito again was the priceless gain of thousands of young teenage players and their families. No title, trophy, certificate, championship, or any award can contain the love and respect that existed between one man and all these people who touched his life and the lives of my mother and my eight brothers and sisters…the ones I will forever and fondly call my “Football Family” (coming soon.)

And now my happiest weekends since parting ways with the Osmonds and the Jacksons begin with humid high school scrimmages in August and go on to college bowl games in January. Finally, they end with February’s NFL World Championship, the Super Bowl ~ hype, commercials, food, and all.

This weekend ~ as the final battle of the season inches near ~ no matter what team you are cheering for, remember that some unknown high school football coach played an immeasurably huge role in the lives of each of these professional players seeking that coveted ring... teaching them, disciplining them, motivating them, guiding them, and inspiring them.

Here’s to them and to all of us gearing up for a “Football Weekend” ~ and here's to the simplest Game Day recipe you might ever know:

FOOTBALL WEEKEND NACHOS

Ground beef (2 lbs.)

Chili Seasoning (1 packet)

Jar of Mild Salsa (Pace 16 oz. size or equivalent)

Jar of Con queso Cheese ( Pace 15 oz. size or equivalent)

Bag (or two) of Nacho tortilla chips

Ground the beef in a skillet and, once cooked fully, add chili packet and let simmer. After 10 minutes, drain and pour into crock pot. Add jars of salsa and cheese and stir. Allow to heat on low for about two hours before serving up at game time with tortilla chips.

Variations include topping with sour cream, black olives, or chiles.

Have a wonderful Friday and a great Football Weekend :)