MERRY CHRISTMAS! Or should I say happy game day?! The long awaited anticipation for Sunday Night football is over because the NFL is back, baby!

For those of you who are WAGS (wives and girlfriends of sports, duh) now’s the time to watch your man excel and put in work on the field. For those who are fans, now’s the time to support your team and players by sporting their name and number across your back. As much as Cammy Cam loves da kids and we love having him with us on the Plains (and truly, deeply, miss him playing on Saturdays in Jordan-Hare), nothing’s better than watching him take the field again on Sunday nights.

To kick off the kick off of the NFL returning, there was the Super Bowl rematch between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers this past Thursday night, where Denver backed up their Super Bowl win with a one point victory over the Panthers. For this first time since 1997- which is almost 2 decades ago- NFL kickoff weekend didn’t feature Tom Brady OR Peyton Manning. Wow, can you say shocker?!

As we welcome back the start to NFL season, we welcome back tradition. For many, Sunday night football is what brings families together, or may even result in a house divided, depending on which teams are playing. Such as, the Redskins vs. Cowboys rivalry. HTTR though, am I right?!

Along with tradition comes the NFL Thanksgiving games. Forget the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade…football being Americas newest favorite pastime has become as essential on Thanksgiving as is turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Welcoming back the NFL means that the crowd pleasing touchdown dances that Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham Jr. preform in the end zone are back, along with the DAB that Cam Newton continues to hit as well as him “hitting the folks.” And for all of you Patriots fans, Rob Gronkowski never fails when it comes to pleasing the crowd by busting out the infamous Gronk Spike.

Welcoming back the NFL means that the thrill of watching an endless amount sacks are back as well as crazy catches from Odell Beckham Jr. and Stefon Diggs, just to name a few.

Welcoming back the NFL means welcoming back our favorite players- J.J. Watts is back, Robert Griffin III is starting for the Browns and Dez Byrant is making progress in rehab, and shows no signs of any major setbacks.

Welcoming back the NFL, however, has come with a few minor setbacks. Let’s not forget about the recent headline stories in regards to Colin Kaepernick protesting to stand during the national anthem and remain seated. Having stood up for his own personal views, Kaepernick may be starting a movement as well as starting a frenzy. Rumors in regards to the NFL banning the national anthem in 2017 have begun to stir up and the only way to find out what will be happening is to simply just keep watching.

With that being said, welcome back, NFL! We’ve been waitin’ all week for Sunday night!