In the past few months, sports has been king on television and in the minds and hearts of the athletes and their families, from the youngest to the pros. On Sunday, Feb. 9, Super Bowl LIX will be played at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, and millions of eyes will be glued to their big screens at home. 

Whichever two teams are fortunate enough to take part will go down in history, while the rest of the teams in the NFL will be looking toward the next season when they will be striving to “play catch-up.”

When I visited that fair city some years back, the Superdome was in view from our motel. It is truly colossal!

“Play catch-up” means when someone is behind in their tasks, they spend time getting back to the point they need to be. The verbal phrase "catch-up" has been used since the 14th century according to Etymology Online in this sense.

By the 1960s the term “play catch-up” appeared in print in reference to sports. Hinds Community College, Raymond, Mississippi publication, The Hindsonian for Sept. 28, 1967 has this citation in “Vaught Drops First” on page 5:

“Now to get down to the professional scene, there is also a mystery that seems to be puzzling the experts. The mystery is the Green Bay Packers. They had to play catch-up football in the second half of their season opener to tie the Detroit Lions.”

Ironically, the Packers and the Lions are two of the teams that are being bet on this year. In fact the Lions are the favorite to win.

So enjoy the Super Bowl next month, and if you have athletes in your family, be proud of them! Some day one of them may be participating in the pros!

If you have a phrase you would like to see featured here, please text Stan at 931-212-3303 or email him at stan@stclair.net