"Touchdown!"

Growing up in my family meant you liked football.  Or at least tolerated it.  We didn't have a TV so we listened to all the Philadelphia Eagles' games on the radio.  We all had our favorite teams - I liked the Eagles but told everyone my favorite team was the Denver Broncos.  I made that decision based purely on the fact that their mascot was a horse.  And I liked horses.  Ah, the reasoning of teenage girls! 

Every week, my mom would draw up a chart of the NFL teams that were playing each other that week.  We then predicted the winners of each game.  The person with the most correct wins had bragging rights that week.  See - no gambling! There was really nothing to be gained.  Except for arguments and bickering, that is.

Anyway, as we listened to those games on the radio, we never tired of hearing Merrill Reese's "It's Goooooooood!" as the Eagles scored another field goal.  "Touchdown!" was even better, naturally. 

It stands to reason then that I would carry on some of these football traditions in my own family.  Unfortunately, we live entirely too far from Philly to hear "It's Gooooooood!" on our radio.  My kids are too young to vote on game results.  As for favorite teams, I am not influencing their decisions at all.  I just point out that we don't really live in "football territory" anyway (the closest team is the Seattle Seahawks) so picking Mommy's team just seems like a natural thing to do.  Oh, and I may just have unpacked a tiny Eagles cheerleader outfit that the Drama Queen wore at a year old. . .

One football tradition that we have faithfully carried out with all four children is teaching them to raise their arms when you say "Touchdown!" before their first football season starts.  The reasons for doing so are numerous.

1.  It's incredibly cute.  So cute, in fact, that you will keep saying "Touchdown!" over and over again just to see them do it until they give you the mom-please-stop-my-arms-hurt look.

2.  It immediately identifies you as good parents.  When you are out and about and the word touchdown causes your little one to immediately raise their arms, other fans think, "Wow, those parents are doing it right.  They're teaching the most important things first."

3.  It is invaluable to undressing your child quickly.  To this day, when I am helping the Spud or any of the other kids take off their shirt to get ready for bed, I say "Touchdown!" and their arms shoot up, greatly expediting the process.

4.  Once you have trained them to do "Touchdown!", there really is no limit to what else you can train them to do.  Giving high fives, blowing kisses, breakdancing - all of these are a piece of cake for your toddler once they have mastered the "Touchdown!"

It is with great pride we carry on the tradition with Little Sprout.  Please click on the following video and observe the cuteness:



"It's Gooooooood!"