I have been a die hard Denver Broncos fan from the day I was born. My dad put me and my sisters in blue and orange the minute he could. We spent our early years bouncing up and down on his knee when the local college teams fight song came on when they scored a touchdown. I have spent countless hours asking questions and discovering what was so exciting about men tackling each other. In honor of the NFL season starting this week, I thought of my seven favorite things about football season, including high school, college, and the NFL.

1. Family Time

My family LOVES football. Every Sunday my sisters, my boyfriend, and I would go to my dads house, decked out in Broncos gear, and watch the team play. We would eat, not when the game was on of course, and we would drink root beer out of Star Wars cups. The time spent yelling, and I mean yelling, at the TV is treasured by me, and my family.

2. Fan Gear

Who doesn't love when their outfit is picked out for them. Every game day my gear goes on, and I don't take it off. In high school, my boyfriend played football. He proudly would wear the number 63 as he played on the Varsity team. Every week I would wear my navy blue sweatshirt, with the saying "63 belongs to me" across the back. Now in college I wear the game day t-shirts on every game day, hence the shirts name. Every fall, I wear my Broncos jerseys, fuzzy socks, and hoodies almost everyday I can, which is a lot because I have a big collection. I also get to wear the jersey after the Broncos when all the time because they are the greatest team to ever exist.

3. Football Bets

As much as I am a Broncos fan, my boyfriend is a die hard San Diego Chargers fan. As you can imagine when the two teams play, which happens at least twice every season we like to trash talk. We started making bets on the games when we were 15, and we haven't stopped. We were not even dating when the bets started. We usually bet silly things like making cupcakes or taking a picture with a sign rooting for the other team. I will never get tired of writing Go Broncos on a white piece of paper and making him hold it up.

4. Feminism

Girls can love football just as much as guys can. I am tired of hearing that girls only like football for the pants and hot guys. Although I love football pants and sweaty men, I love the game too. I will never forget when I was walking in my high school at lunch with my boyfriend and a few other friends, wearing my Eric Decker jersey because he was my NFL crush until he left the Broncos for the Jets. A group of boys standing called me out and asked if I could even name five players. Five players? Really? I quickly listed off at least ten and shut them up really fast. There is nothing wrong with a girl who loves sports, and there is no reason to call everyone a bandwagon. Someone doesn't even have to know the players names to love football. Everyone likes to watch the game differently, so lets end with that.

5. Food

I love the traditional football game foods. Ranging from pizza, wings, chips, soda, and cookies to having my dad cook a new recipe he tried out that is easy to eat in-between the game. The stores always have awesome displays with the soda cans, and I am not going to lie that it makes me want to buy them for the next Sunday party that my family is going to have.

6. Friend making

There is honestly no better conversation starter then the beloved game of football. I have mat countless people just by completing a jersey or joining a conversation about the last nights game. I have met many friends yelling in the stands cheering for the team to kick some but, I love meeting people and talking with people about something so general, and something that a lot of people know about .

7. Fangirling

I have a preppy soul. I love the face painting, jumping up and down, screaming the fight song kind of games. I love yelling at the players like I know what I am doing. I love posting cute pictures on social media of me and my friends supporting our school. Go big or go home. Take a picture with the mascot. Sign the school song, and dance while you do it. Wear your school colors from head to toe. The getting pumped up is one of the best parts!

I love football. I love the grass stains, Gatorade bottles, and silly announcers repeating everything that my dad says just a minute after him. I crave the lost voices, and blistered feet. I love everything about football, and I am so pumped to get this season started! Go Broncos! Go Aggies! Go Grizzlies!