Author's Note - thank you all so much for the feedback! It's always tricky dipping into a new fandom: you try to walk the line between what you think, and what people expect. I'm especially grateful to those of you who are liking the analogies/metaphors.
This one isn't all that metaphor-laden. I was just mildly amused by the fact that Chandler picks on Ross more than Monica in an episode where Monica isn't even on his team, and Ross is.
Competitive Drive
TOW with the Football
Monica: Losers walk!
Ross: Yeah, losers talk!
Chandler: No, no, no, actually losers rhyme.
Chandler is still mourning Janice. He loved her, and he lost her, and it hurts more than he ever would have expected.
But somehow, playing this stupid football game with his friends is improving his mood. He still hates Thanksgiving and all it stands for, but he is grateful, every day, for the five of them. And he's out in the fresh air, and there's a beautiful blonde woman to impress (who looks nothing like Janice), and he realizes again that his life really doesn't suck.
And he has to admit, it isn't just the game, or the blonde.
It's Monica. He can't help it. He mocks the Geller siblings and their competitive streak unmercifully, of course. But he is always amazed at how differently they handle it. The fact is, the competitive drive that turns Ross into a complete weenie makes Monica seem hotter than, well, ever. Even when she tackles him in front of Margha, part of him can't help thinking how ridiculously sexy Monica is when she gets like this. Monica wants (needs) to win, and unlike Ross, she doesn't whine, or make excuses when things don't go her way. She just goes after what she wants even harder - and to hell with everything else. And while Chandler is simply not wired that way (it's why he never excelled at sports ), there isn't anything sexier to him than that gleam in Monica's eye.
Especially when that energy is focused on a game, or a troll doll nailed to a board, and not some guy who doesn't deserve her (and who isn't him).