Football was never my strong suit. I could never quite follow what was happening on the field or what the referee meant when he threw up his hands.

That being said, why I decided to go to a game when I was invited, I don’t really know.

Football has always been an illusive sport for me. I am a typical girl I guess when it comes to understanding the game. In middle school, I had no idea goal posts were called goal posts until I ignorantly asked one time why the players were kicking the ball threw the giant forks sticking out of the ground. The look of horror from my fathers face was priceless, I will never forget the look of disappointment.

Well, adult me is very similar to middle-school me when it comes to football. I still have no idea what is going on. So why would I go to a Steelers game? Well, I have no idea. Honestly I thought it would be a cool experience – and oh it was.

First we started the day by tailgating. Now, I have never been tailgating and I am very confident when I say I was a party-pooper. It was so cold when we got there and little old me only brought a pillow pet since I forgot a blanket. So as I’m huddled in back of the trunk hugging my panda pillow pet and eating as much food as I can between shivers, I look around and see that no one else seemed bothered by the freezing weather.

Realizing that they were seasoned attenders of such an event, I felt out of place to say the least. It didn’t help that everyone kept staring at my pillow pet as I clung to it for smallest bit of warmth.

But, after actually getting into the stadium and seeing all the players warming up, I had to appreciate the sport.

Seeing each players tactics while warming up and seeing just how intense football is won me over. Watching the Steelers and Giants battle for a win, I saw just how much work every person has to put into playing the game. It is fascinating how every player relies on one another to work for a victory.

I now have a massive amount of respect for football as a sport.

The amount of time a player has to put into preparing plays and conditioning their bodies for the intensity of football is amazing. Overall, I enjoyed the game and I can say without hesitation that I would go again. Even though football is not my favorite sport and the Steelers were not the team who I was cheering for (sorry Steelers fans, the Giants are my fav) I loved the experience.

Viewing a game live truly changed my perception of the sport. Always watching the games through a television screen limited my opinion on the sport. Now I am exited to explore the world of football and maybe even become a fan eventually.