A day in the life of a Texans wife
HOUSTON -- As the smell of tailgating fills the air and fans put on their favorite NFL players' jerseys while waiting for the action to start, the wives and girlfriends of the players have their own traditions. Marissa Allen, wife of Texans offensive guard Jeff Allen, shared her game day routine with ABC13.
One of my favorite aspects of blogging is getting the opportunity to share glimpses of my daily life. I thought it would be fun to provide a few snippets from a home game!
I wake up at 7am. I immediately start getting outfits ready and packing bags. If you are looking for cute custom game day outfits, I would strongly recommend Blank Slate Designs. The company created some shirts for me based on designs I created.
We always have Shipley's Donuts and must leave the house NO LATER than 10:30am. On my way to the stadium, I always pray my daughter, Joy, gets a quick nap on the way. Traffic on the way to NRG is hit or miss. The Texans are gracious enough to provide game day child care which is a win - win for the parents. Joy gets to hang out with her buddies and I get to enjoy the game without wrestling with her! However, I do pick her up during the third quarter of each game. She loves the music and is learning how to cheer for Daddy! Before the game, I must stop for a lemonade at the exact same lemonade stand. It might sound silly, but its my game day contribution and I believe it somehow alter the outcome in our favor.
- Killens BBQ: BBQ sandwich
- The "Walking Nachos" stand:
A bag of Fritos or Doritos stuffed with cheese sauce, and a choice: chopped beef, ground beef, chicken, or fajita veggies. They even have fresh jalapenos and salsa to top it all off!
- Loaded Waffle Fries (with Killen's Chopped Brisket)
- Kernel Popcorn is the best there is!
I'm usually really nervous the whole game. I worry about injuries, false starts, and holding calls. I'm blessed to have been to at least 50 NFL games. I do my best to keep this in mind each game and try to make it a great experience for all of our guests despite my jitters.
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Once the game ends, we go to the "post game room" to greet family and pervious teammates. My husband takes about 30 minutes to shower and emerge from the locker room. Joy always spots him first and takes off on a sprint to hug him. I always look him over for new bumps/bruises and then we leave NRG. We love seeing the faithful fans along the players' lot exit regardless of the outcome. After the game, we have two options: go out for an early dinner or go home and order food. Sometimes, I prepare a Crockpot meal, but game day take a toll on the entire family.
I also took some time to ask some of the other "Lady Texans" if they had any game day rituals and we share similar routines. We need to feed our families, get them out of the house on time, and we all pray for an injury free WIN!
Amber Jackson, Kareem Jackson's wife: She also starts the day with a Shipley's Donut run and typically has a house full of guests. She stressed the importance of leaving by 10:30am and always uses Facetime to chat with Kareem prior to kickoff.
Najah Martin, Jadeveon Clowney's girlfriend: She cooks breakfast for her guests, says a pregame prayer with Jadeveon, gets their son dressed and leaves their house by 10:30am.
Stacy Clark, Chris Clark's wife: She uses Facetime to chat with Chris before the game and their family says a prayer together.
Heather Su'a- Filo, Xavier Su'a-Filo's wife: She says the only thing they do every game (home and away) is say a prayer of gratitude and safety over the phone when Xavier is on his way to the stadium. She said it gets them both in game mode, calms their nerves and reminds them they are blessed. Their son, Lennox, usually wears some Texans gear. He goes to the day care provided by the team for half of the game and they watch the second half together. He loves cheering! After the game, Xavier looks up and and points at his family.
At the end of the day we recognize this as an amazing experience. It has its ups and downs but my husband gets to play the game he loves every Sunday and I get to serve as a witness! Football isn't forever so we remain faithful and focused in this season of our lives. For more pictures from game day and portions of our daily life, make sure you follow my blog FirstandFull.com!
I blog over at FirstandFull.com. I began blogging four years ago and use my page as a place to stay truthful about motherhood, share original recipes from my kitchen, and as a documentation of family life in the NFL. I am married to Houston Texan Jeff Allen (#79) and we have a daughter named Joy and are expecting my son any day now!
Blogging has connected me with people from all sorts of backgrounds; other mothers, football fans, foodies, and sometimes a combination of them all. I would love to chat with you! You can find me:
