Bye Week Blues

With the Giants coming up on a bye week, I've compiled a list of things to do during your team's bye week. Feel free to add your own.

10. Spend Some Time With the Wife or Girlfriend

She will absolutely adore the fact that you've taken a weekend away from football to spend quality time with her. Take her for some early Christmas shopping, watch Lifetime, take her out to dinner, whatever she wants to do.
Bonus Points: If she knows nothing about the game of football, don't educate her on the meaning of a bye week, she will think you're taking time off from football just for her!

9. Fantasy Sports

Spend all the effort you would normally put into your team, into your fantasy team! Spend the day pouring over stats from around the league, keep ESPNews on all day, and see just how many TD passes Tom Brady can throw this week. That's if you don't spend your weekend doing this anyway.
Bonus Points: Get a custom jersey made up for your fantasy team. The other guys in your league will hate to see that.

8. The Great Outdoors

Spend the day outside, if it's not too cold yet. Play some touch football. Go roll around in a big pile of leaves. Remember, there is a world outside of your living room, and reality is still slightly clearer than your HDTV.

7. Through the Magic of Television...

You can relive previous highlights from this season, or previous seasons. Watch the best games your team played all season, and review it like a head coach, pointing out strengths and weaknesses throughout the games.
Bonus Points: Put the films on your computer and make your own NFL Films style highlight reels.

6. Learn Another Sport

Check out English Premier League Soccer or Australian Rules Football. Maybe scout out a new kicker or punter for your team. There are many international sports that run all year long, so try to find something that you can watch after your team has dropped out of the playoffs (Note to Dolphins fans: now is that time).

5. Learn to Play Cornerback

I don't care how you do it. Suit up with the local Pop-Warner league, play some Madden, read "How to Play Cornerback for Dummies", just get it done. You know who you are, Terrence McGee.

4. Play Endless Hours of Madden

This may also help you with option 5, but if you'd rather just coach your team to the Super Bowl, spend the day playing video games. Take your XBox 360 online, and school some 12 year-old in on the art of the west-coast offense. Just don't tell your friends when he pulls a Bill Belichick runs up the score on you.

3. Tailgate Anyway

Have a cookout, spend the day drinking and feasting like it were any other Sunday afternoon, without all the heartburn from the agony of defeat.
Bonus Points: Try actually tailgating at your home team's stadium.

2. Plan Your Super Bowl Party

This is great chance to figure out who you're inviting to your Super Bowl party, where you're hosting the event, what you should serve (here's one of my favorites). Also, now is the time to decide weather you're going to rent that 72" flat-panel plasma this year.

1. Watch Football!

Pick another team to root for, or root against your friends' teams. It doesn't matter, Sundays are for football. As long as there's a game on, you'll find something to keep yourself occupied until your team returns, it's only a week away.