Couples nights out can be fun … if the husband hookups succeed

There's nothing like nudging your husband toward another woman's husband, crossing your fingers and thinking, "For the love of God, please don't mention your fascination with Bigfoot. Save that for the second date."

When you orchestrate a double date in which only you and the other wife are already acquainted, it's really just a husband hookup. Two women trying to get their other halves to sniff each other out and wag their tails into the sunset so we can spend time with our girlfriend while still spending time with our husband. A simple concept, sure. But it can get pretty complex.

It started casually, this little husband hookup. The wife and I established years ago that we enjoyed each other's company. Through many lunch dates and a couple after-work cocktails, we discovered our partners had a common interest, er, obsession with college football. We arrived at the discovery innocently enough.

"Why does he think he's on the team?" "If he tries to hang that flag in our living room again, I swear to God." "Are there shelters for women like us?"

That's when a big, bright light bulb illuminated over our conspiring heads. If we could get the two of them together, we could offset our misery. She and I could have girl talk while our significant others pounded their NCAA-loving chests and swung from the vines of ESPN highlights.

Dare we think even bigger? What if we never had to watch another college football game again?

Before our hearts could explode like the bottles of Champagne we could hear popping in our heads, we pumped our wishful brakes. Let's just get them together and see what happens.

Yeah, that was about four football seasons ago. It turns out guys don't like their women dragging them toward women who are dragging other guys. But women? Oh, we don't mind doing the dragging one bit. It's just one of the many burdens in life that we're willing to bear.

We decided to give the husband hookup another shot recently. There was just one problem this time around. College football was over. All that remained was the championship game, in which neither of our husband's teams was playing. That left only the NFL as an ice-breaker.

Luckily, my husband had taken a recent interest in pro football after a long hiatus away. He roots for the Detroit Lions. Enough said.

Here's the thing. When you arrange a husband hookup, sometimes you must engage in a little coaxing. Similar to the single woman who demands more information about the blind date who "has a great personality," a husband needs encouragement. The encouragement eventually turns into flash cards on the drive to the date.

My husband: So, he's a USC fan?

Me: Yes.

Husband: And, you've known her a long time, right?

Me: Right.

Husband: And his NFL team is the Denver Broncos?

Me: (Thinking "so far, so very good") Yup!

Husband: (Groaning) Oh, man. Does he like Tebow?

That's when the needle on my husband-hookup record scratched. It scratched hard. My husband loves to vocalize his anti-Tebowism. Could the subject of the controversial Christian quarterback, of whom I'm a fan, really threaten to ruin this potential touchdown? But us wives gave it so much hype. And, similar to Denver's receivers, we had to wait so long.

Not at all feeling like the schoolyard bully's mother, I asked my husband to please play nice ... or else. He agreed but the closer we got to our date destination, the more I wondered how two passionate football fans could come to terms with a disagreement like that. I pictured our waitress kindly asking us to take the arm wrestling elsewhere.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, a hostess informed us of a 50-minute wait. In my head that translated to 50 minutes of Tim Tebow talk. Maybe I could convince them to mime their emotions, at least until dinner.

When I spotted my girlfriend, all those concerns dissolved. It didn't take five seconds for one of the husbands to broach the subject of football. Like toddlers and Legos, the connection was easy. Off to the bar they went. We couldn't yet hear the tune of "My Buddy" playing in the background, but it looked promising.

While the wifeys caught up, we glanced occasionally at our husbands to make sure neither of us got "the look." That's when you know it's going to be a long night and an even longer car ride home.

Luckily, they both returned from the bar wearing smiles. Big exhale.

Apparently I wasn't the only one feeling relieved. My husband looked at me, raised his glass and announced, "He hates Tebow, too!"

Well, he didn't waste any time getting down to business. Not that I was surprised. Kinda like Tim Tebow and a football, my husband doesn't let go that quickly.

I'm just happy to report that future double dates are on the horizon.

Contact columnist Xazmin Garza at xgarza@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0477. Follow her on Twitter at @startswithanx.