Women all across the country experienced a rebirth of sorts with the ending of football season. Football widows no longer, they got their husbands and boyfriends back after what must have seemed to them like an eternity.

For the guys, however, the death of football at the completion of the Super Bowl and ensuing Pro Bowl is mourned in varying degrees.  There are hoops guys out there who are excited that the NFL will go away now and the NBA will be the biggest thing going.  I don’t know these guys, though.  The college game is my big thing, but I’m into the NFL like everybody else.  So even if January is sort of a cooling-off period for college fans, the NFL is still there to get you a weekly fix.

Not any more.  Millions of men will come out of a coma of sorts this week.  All the football excuses aren’t going to fly with the ladies now that the season is over.  Shopping on the weekend?  Cleaning out the garage?  Doing your taxes?  Yep, there are a whole host of unattractive alternatives that you’re going to be faced with.  You’ve ignored your woman for four months because of football.  Get ready for some payback, guys.

There are some alternatives.  Arena football is getting into gear.  I went to my first AFL game a few weeks ago and am pleased to report that it has its merits.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s not even a methadone fix, but there are good things about the arena game.  Defense is an afterthought, so fans whose regular college or NFL team struggles to put the ball in the end zone can marvel at a quarterback throwing six touchdowns on a pretty regular basis.  There are also about twice as many cheerleaders packed into an arena about a quarter as big.  And trash talk is encouraged, if that’s your thing.  The game I went to featured opponent-specific trash talk from players in pre-game video presentations and from the house announcer.  Different, but fine with me. 

And then there’s basketball.  Where to begin?  It would be fair to say that I have a love/hate relationship with the hoops game.  A well-played, evenly-matched game between teams with good players can be a beautiful thing to watch.  I love the rowdy atmosphere that some college arenas foster.  And the NCAA Tournament is the best finale to any season – bar none. 

But the NBA game can be unwatchable at times, too.  Some games turn into a one-on-one contest with clear-out isolation plays for the star.  And it makes me cringe to watch teams pretend to play defense.  I admit I was rooting for the Pistons to beat the Lakers last year, and was overjoyed to see that All-Star team fall to a bunch that actually played some defense.

I also don’t like the amount of control that the referee has on the game.  A whistle-happy ref can absolutely ruin a game pretty quickly, turning your ticket into an invitation to a de facto free throw shooting contest.  Nobody wants to see that.  And it especially irks me to see grandstanding refs face down coaches and try to goad them into technical fouls.

At the very least, basketball season gives football guys like me something else to bet on.  After the beating my bankroll took in the NFL, I need a chance to build it back up before September rolls around.  Hoops is the first chance.  So whether you’re a basketball guy or not, here’s to a good finish to your betting endeavors.