3-0 Lakers!

It's been an exciting night at the Francl house, not just because I actually cooked a well-rounded supper of roast and veggies, but also because it was a Laker game night. To sweeten the scenario, the game started at 8pm rather than the usual 10:30pm, so I got to watch Chase as he watched the game. (When the games start at 10:30, I'm in bed by half time while my obsessed husband stays up til 2am watching.)

It'd been a while since I'd remained conscious through the 4th quarter of a Laker game, and I was struck by the focus Chase puts on watching the games. Although not quite as intense as Husker games, Chase was on his phone to his buddies regularly, particularly during the final minutes of the 4th quarter, though usually he would call during commercial breaks.

You'll notice in the picture above that Chase is pacing, a thing he does if games he cares about are close as the final buzzer approaches. You'll also notice the papers/books that are the work he was "going to work on" while watching the game - he has to pace around these. Frazier also threw in a brown monkey toy of his for good measure.

I took the above picture when there was maybe a minute and a half left in the game. I'm sure I'll hear some crack about needing a bigger TV when he sees this shot. I think it'd be cheaper if he'd either quit caring about sports (fat chance of that one...) or if I just got him some magnifying glasses.

I always feel bad for our downstairs neighbors on nights like this, because Chase has been known to jump, stomp, drop things, yell, holler, and whoop when games come to a close. Fortunately for the folks downstairs tonight, the game ended with the Lakers winning by one thanks to a missed Utah Jazz shot in the last second.

This is Chase who is finally sitting still enough that Frazier feels comfortable rescuing his poor monkey. I have learned over almost 5 years of marriage that the post-game coverage is almost as critical as the game itself. One simply has to let one's husband take it in if one wants a happy marriage.

Some of you may be wondering, why is Chase, a Nebraska native who lived in Michigan for 7 years and now lives in Virginia, obsessed with the Lakers? Well, you'll have to ask him. As for me, I'll just send a shout out to any other east-coast-wives-of-west-coast-sports-fans. I know you're out there, and here's to you for sharing your husband with a sports team 2,664 miles away. His shouts from his living room on the east coast really do reach those stadiums on the west coast and have an impact on the all-star players and the outcome of the game - at least that's what he thinks.