Bitter Rivalry of the Week – Nephew vs. Nephew

/ bensbitterblog

I’ve talked a lot about football lately, which is kind of crazy to me, because I only have a passing interest in it.  I enjoy watching the long pass plays, but you know the thing about football? Pro football is owned by billionaires, played my millionaires, and fantasy played by thousandaires. I get them wanting to do it, because holy cow can you make a living for a few years by playing in the NFL.

But the amateur football players I don’t get.  My son is in third grade, and from September until middle of October, he practiced two hours a day 3 times a week, and had to show up an hour early on Saturdays for practice before his games. We drove miles sometimes to watch a team that didn’t win once.

Also, I have two nephews, one on each side that played every year until this year, as seniors, they got to sit on the bench. Both spent years of their lives practicing, running plays, attending team meetings, dinners and sometimes didn’t get home until midnight, where they were supposed to do their “first priority” homework. And guess what they got for all their hard work? The chance to sit on the bench of mediocre teams as seniors.

On the positive side (for me) they both were on teams that were on teams that were up in air on this Wednesday night. They had to win in order to tie the teams in their divisions. So it all came to a coin flip to see who was in, and who had to play each other.

If you are smart(or read the title of the post), you probably figured out that the coin flip had landed right on the side of the coin and my nephews are playing each other this coming Tuesday. Nephew vs. Nephew. Mediocre teams vs. Mediocre team. Bench player vs. Bench player. My side of the family vs. My wife’s side of the family. Time to choose. You know which side I’m going for. You know what side my wife is going for. This isn’t just a parent that has two kids, one at Duke and one at North Carolina. This is a family that could be ripped apart by a game that none of us care about, except for two lovable bench warmers.

So who is going to win? The one on MY side, or that other side of the family?

And just to give you a little extra motivation, view the emotional video above of one from my side of the family, and the none video I made of the other side.

ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH

Bitter Family Rivalry Ben

34 thoughts on “Bitter Rivalry of the Week – Nephew vs. Nephew”

  1. High school sports are so ridiculous most of the time. If I hadn’t been one of the few girls who wanted to play goalie on my high school soccer team, I can guarantee you I would have had enough time during the season to carve a Van Gough replica into the bench.

    And that “first priority” homework during the season? Ha…ha ha…hahahahahahaha!

    It’s great to get into the spirit of the game and enjoy the time and – as an athlete – stay active, but from the players’ perspective (maybe your nephews, sometimes), it can all get a little too intense. Most of these kids aren’t getting college athletic scholarships and aren’t going to go pro, yet they’re made to sacrifice every free moment for at least half the school year so the coaches can keep their jobs and the school can make money.

    I’ll stop ranting now haha. I’m just glad I served my time in school sports and am done with it. Guess I’m the Bitter One today!

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  2. Your side, of course! Because they have the incentive of being videoed by you and showing up on your blog as a bitter bench winner instead of a bitter bench loser… Am I right?

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  3. Personally I’m routing for your nephew. I feel like his bench warming talents far exceed the others bench warming talents. With most people it’s a little gross to sit on their residual butt heat, but your nephew has got it just right.

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  5. Thank you for stopping my my humble little blog. I like your bitterness, but like wit and weaponry, I think it could use a bit of sharpening (you’d be one step ahead of me in both). You need to learn how to tinker on a car. Not repair, mind you – then everybody wants a slice of your time. Get one of those rolling auto crawlers and some magnetic strips for your e-Reader, the roll under the car and attach the reader to any large chuck of metal (or rust). Now the wife thinks you’re a wonderful hubby, and you can catch up on all your reading or binge-watching. Do NOT, under any circumstances, actually try to work on a car, though. I’ve done so for about 45 years (I’m 53 – yes, I started young), and most cars are VORACIOUS consumers of time, money, and if you really want to fix anything, skin and blood. My Cavalier has more of my blood in it than I do. Also, only work (if you must) on GM cars. If you get REALLY frustrated (and you will), a loud shout of “JUNKYARD” and “TOYOTA” will often repair your problems without need of tools, parts, OR a blood sacrifice. (Hey, it kept my 1973 Vega running until 1989!) What’s the best part of tinkering you ask? Simple – as the old phrase goes, “If it doesn’t work, hit it with a hammer. If it still doesn’t work, hit it with a bigger hammer. If it breaks, it needed to be replaced anyway.”

    And remember, you don’t have to limit yourself to your own vehicle. Got an obnoxious neighbor? Offer to align his headlights. Use a 10-pound sledgehammer. Fixes EVERYTHING! 😀 (Note – this blogger does not recommend using tools to abuse your neighbor. I prefer longswords and bayonets, personally. 😉 )

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      • Ya read my mind – ALWAYS blame it on the computer. Heck, for over 15 years, I made a career of blaming things on the computer! (I was a mainframe programmer.) But you do need to do one technical thing – find the fusebox. It’s not hard, usually next to your left knee or in the glovebox. Read the owner’s manual to find out what they do, then yank a non-essential one and tell the wife it’s gonna take HOURS to fix. Lay down on the floor of the car, snooze for a few, then plug the fuse back in and VOILA! You’re Mr. Goodwrench personified! (That same theory works on household wiring, as well. And don’t worry about possibly getting shocked – I’ve been hit with 110-volt current hundreds of times in my life, and there with nothing me wrong all is at. 😀 )

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  10. Pingback: Bitter Rivalry of the Week – Nephew vs. Nephew —…. – MARITAL STATUS AND STYLE

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