My oldest started high school football practice recently, but we have talked more about his team’s pregame routine than touchdowns or tackles. Instead of X’s and O’s, Yosef and I are commiserating over whether he will kneel or stand during the national anthem. I wonder if other dads of third-string placekickers are spending time doing the same this summer. Former NFL star Colin Kaepernick, who cost himself millions of dollars and a promising football career after kneeling during the anthem, has been back in the news in recent weeks. And with the ongoing protests and marches in reaction to … [Read more...]
Watching Football with Inquisitive Daughter a Different Kind of Experience
My wife and I were recently given two tickets to an Indianapolis Colts preseason football game. Since my wife, admittedly, pays no attention during games she told me to do whatever I wanted with the tickets. After much debate, I decided to take my oldest daughter. The Colts no longer had Peyton “Nanny” as she calls him, but she was still pumped up and excited to go. We live just a couple of miles from the Lucas Oil Stadium, so it was a quick car ride downtown. I managed to find free street parking, too, and all I had to do was cross four lanes of traffic and cut off two cars to get it. From … [Read more...]
Santa: He Sees You When You’re Speeding …
I was driving my kids and family to take a Polar Express-themed train ride. We were all dressed in pajamas, including my six-foot-three father – because that’s what you do for the Polar Express. You wear pajamas. I was worried we would be late and, apparently, I was burning a bit of rubber. About 20 miles from our destination, we got pulled over. The officer saw us all in pajamas, laughed, gave me a warning, and told me to slow down. Three hours later, we were ending the train ride and Santa appeared and took the time to talk to all the kids. He got to me and asked what I wanted for … [Read more...]
A ‘Heart 2 Heart’ Fatherhood Talk with Michael Strahan
DISCLOSURE: We would like to thank Meta health and wellness products for providing us the opportunity to promote its "Heart 2 Heart" campaign. Every parent should have an occasionally heart-to-heart talk with his or her kids, and there's no better time than February which is National Heart Health Month. There's also no reason a child can't have that same talk with his parent which is just what pro football Hall of Famer and talk show host Michael Strahan does, chatting with his father, Gene, in the new campaign for Meta. City Dads Group co-founder Lance Somerfeld and NYC Dads Group … [Read more...]
Fatherhood Highlight for Two NFL Stars
With the pro football season nearing its end, you'll be seeing plenty of highlight reels from the past year but none quite like the ones our friends at Dove Men+Care made featuring two NFL stars. The makers of grooming goodies for dudes and dads (full disclosure: Dove Men+Care is a longtime supporter/sponsor of City Dads Group) have a new advertising campaign that challenges the notion that feats of speed, power and agility on the gridiron are what athletes treasure most. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer and Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson are featured in … [Read more...]