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The Plight of the Football Wife

ByABC News via logo
January 7, 2006, 9:24 AM

Jan. 7, 2006 — -- Football season can be a lonely time for some wives, as they watch their husbands assume a new top priority in life.

"He pretty much shuts down on Saturdays and Sundays for the big games," said Jill Lesnick, one such wife.

"Our Sundays usually consist of me dropping him off at a bar, and I literally have to kill three to four hours of my time," said Danielle Mann.

"Generally, I'm not available on Sundays," said her husband, Josh Mann.

What is a girl to do?

Men and women often go their separate ways at kickoff, but Holly Robinson Pete, wife of former NFL quarterback Rodney Pete, said it doesn't have to be that way. Her book, "A Woman's Guide to Pro Football," tries to show women aspects of the game that they could enjoy.

"If most women understood the rules of the game, they would get way more into it then they thought they would," she said.

On "Good Morning America Weekend Edition," Dhani Jones of the Philadelphia Eagles gave a few wives of football junkies a crash course on the game.

The wives learned to tackle and how to assume a three-point stance. They even learned how to read when a play is going to be a pass or a run.

Then, the ladies joined their men at a sports bar, where they dazzled their husbands with their knowledge.

"I feel like I'd be better prepared to sit down and watch a football game, as opposed to not knowing what the tight end is or the wide receiver," said Jen Cicenia.

Perhaps a little knowledge is the key to preserving marital bliss on the weekends.