From pattern notes:

“Dana’s husband, Jeff, was a rabid sports fan who was glued to the television every Sunday afternoon. Dana complained constantly to her sister, Jessie, about this predicament, so Jessie signed Dana up for a knitting class at our store, figuring that knitting was something Dana could do while Jeff was planted in front of the TV.

Dana loved the idea so much, she gave the first sweater she made to Jessie, who has been wearing it ever since. This sweater is a great first project because it knitted on size 19 needles (almost as big as they come) and goes superfast. Now Jeff is hoping his team makes it to the playoffs so Dana will have time to make one for him; he claims that he deserves one because if he wasn’t such a big football fan, she never would have learned to knit.“