Few things in life elicit more robust emotional responses than sports. Weddings, funerals, births, and maybe a handful of life achievements are about the only things that will top the raw emotion felt by diehard sports fans. That isn’t always a good thing. Reportedly, domestic abuse cases rise during the NFL season, and who hasn’t seen video footage of rabid fans burning cars and generally tearing up their towns after a championship?
The in-person experience can be tricky as well. The NFL, in particular, can feature a wild, often dangerous stadium environment. The combination of alcohol and passion for the team can lead many fans to lose their cool and react in ways polite company shouldn’t. Of course, boorish behavior isn’t restricted to the stadium. Tailgating and sports bars can be a prime place for tempers to flare should an opposing fan dare show their face.
Even at home, the raw passion and excitement can get out of hand. The internet is rife with video clips of fans either celebrating or expressing their pain over a loss in creative, destructive ways. For one Texas woman, she took Sundays as an opportunity to entertain herself while her husband agonized over Dallas Cowboy games, and the result has gone viral.
Makenzie Waters is a football widow from September to December, at least considering her husband is a Cowboy fan, and they haven’t exactly been successful in the postseason of late. As with any true fan, her husband lives and dies with his team every week. Waters has been watching games with her husband for the last five years, and she has noticed some specific mannerisms that she has fashioned into a fun, viral game.
Fans have their superstitions, and Waters’ husband is no different. Justin Waters gets so involved in the game that his wife has created a bingo card to track his emotional responses during a contest. The result has entertained millions on TikTok. One in particular garnered over 4 million views.
Makenzie Waters talked about her Sunday routine: “I have been watching Cowboys games with my husband for seven years now and I thought it would be funny to show everyone his crazy reactions as he’s watching and to show how well I know him. It’s been so exciting going viral! We got to be on our local news station, I did a radio interview for the first time, and we’ve had several articles written about it. It’s been so fun the past few days!”
It well-deserved attention for Waters. However, she isn’t in on the joke by herself. Justin knows what he is like on Sundays, and after numerous conversations about his wild reaction, he was all on board with the video. He said: “We had talked about it before and just how predictable I am. We kind of thought it would be a funny idea if we pieced it together just to see how well she actually knew me.”
Both the husband and wife are teachers and parents, and they have no intention of stopping their Sunday hijinks anytime soon. In fact, the Dallas Cowboys begin their playoff season Sunday afternoon against the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys are heavy favorites, but their recent lack of success in the postseason could make this weekend’s bingo video the best of the season.
Featured image screen grab from embedded video
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