my dad talks to football players

i'm 22 & right now all i know about football
is that my dad can talk to the players through
the TV. this realization occurred when i was 
much younger (maybe 10) & we were watching
a game (maybe the super bowl?). dad leans
in close when he watches football, like a
diver on the lip of a great big blue pool,
clutching his beer in one hand & a remote
in the other. he shouted expletives at the players,
like usual, "come on you dumb fucker!" 
"you're a homo!" this is how men show they 
care about each other. when he got too loud
mom would mumble "they can't hear you" from
the kitchen. she wasn't looking though. occasionally,
from the field, the players would hear dad, 
they'd turn around where they were standing on
the sides of the field & look up towards him. 
tiny, colorful men, searching for my father's
through the crowds cheering. that's when 
dad would say different things, he would
say "you can do this" he would say "we have
to do this" he would say "come on come on
come on" & the small figurine-sized men
would nod to him. even if they lost dad would
linger on the television channel awhile
as the recap played. i imagine that, maybe,
after we were all asleep, that he would
go downstairs & flick the television on
to really talk to the men. maybe he would put
his big callous hand against the screen
& the little players would use his arm
as a bridge to step out of the TV & into
our living room. what would he talk to them
about? maybe us, his two kids (one boy one girl). 
maybe pork chops (what mom had made for dinner).
maybe he'd take back the terrible
things he'd said to them; the slurs & the curses.
probably not though, this is how men show
they care about each other after all. 
only, this isn't true, i did walked half-way down
the stairs that night after the game & 
the living room was dimly lit. dad watched
the weather channel & popped a cap off 
of another brown bottle. yes, then i guess
i don't know anything about football.