In 1969 Elaine Tarkenton, wife of New York Giants quarterback Fran Tarkenton wrote A Wife's Guide to Pro Football, dedicated "To the long-suffering wives of pro football fanswith the hope that in some small way this book can explain and communicate the fascination of The Game for husbands everywhere." Mrs. Tarkenton's book was the first recorded attempt to counsel what were commonly called "football widows" in methods of regaining their husbands' attentions on fall Sunday afternoons. In her introduction Mrs. Tarkenton describes game day from a woman's point of view: "A few, a very few, share the excitement of the game with their husbands. But for most, Sunday afternoon means hours of pro-football widowhooda slam-the-door retreat to kitchen or bedroom in an often unsuccessful attempt to get beyond range of a sportscaster whose excitement is reflected in a rising crescendo of incomprehensibility, from a tense, "Third and inches, triple flankers right".....
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