I like how wives freak out at the "drop everything for Husker football" when in reality it's only 12 days out of the 365 day calendar. Asking for 12 days out of 365 really should not be too much to ask. Tell your wife, "you're lucky I'm not an MLB fan, that would be 162 days out of the year - I'm only asking for 12 (or starting this year, 16 due to our natty)." If anything, your wife got off easy.
English Premier League is 38 games plus 10 for Champions League. NBA 82 games. You're just asking for 12 days (16 now). Not too much to ask.