Shout Out: My Husband

You've all seen it:  the cameraman on the sideline gets in close beside the players during the game.  The sound may not even be on, but you know he's saying.  "Hi, Mom!"  Players always give a shout out to their moms.  So, these series of "Shout Outs" are to the people who helped us and inspired us in the writing of this script.

First up is my husband.  Yes, I sat right beside him on the couch last season with a yellow legal pad furiously scribbling down the random things he yelled at the screen, the announcers, the coaches, the players, the commercials... well, maybe he didn't yell at the commercials.  (And this was during games I was allowed to sit next to him... Often, last season, the Steelers played better when Chad and I watched in different rooms, so I was kicked out on more than one occasion.)  Even more than providing actual lines in the play (which he has not read, for the record, since he wants to be surprised -- or so he tells me) his long-lasting friendships with other sports-watching guys were great fodder.  Write what you know, people say.  And what he's shown me is how the love of the team, the game, and friends is an important part of a good many men's happiness.  In fact, it was his fanaticism about the Steelers that brought Steph and I together.  (I'll let her tell you in her own words.)

Quick Story:  A few years ago he and I were fortunate enough to attend the AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh.  High up in our nose-bleed seats, the snow whirling around us, cold air battling against the toe and hand warmers we'd stuffed under thick layers, I attended my first game in Heinz Stadium.  At one point, when my husband made a quick departure to use the facilities, the young twenty-something guy sitting next to me leaned in and asked, "So, when you married him, did you know he was a face-painter?"

No.  I did not.  But I love it about him.