sports and me
I don’t know about you, but I like sports. Well, not all sports. I don’t like basketball unless it’s March. I do like March Madness. I like NASCAR and drag racing. I like soccer, golf and hockey. Baseball is not my favorite unless it’s the playoffs and I always watch the World Series. I like professional football. I always like watching the Super Bowl and not for the commercials or halftime even though there may be some good commercials. The halftime show is not always good or worth watching, in my opinion, so I get my snacks ready for the second half. My favorite sport though is college football. I love college football. I am always so excited for September to get here so I can start watching. I have my favorites for every sport even though I don’t watch them all.
I have seen some great games and watched some great players through the years. I have been to both pro and college games for basketball, baseball, and hockey games. I was a little bit of a soccer and hockey groupie in college. I followed the teams around with some girlfriends to all the away games and never missed a home game! I have seen a couple of pro football games and a whole lot of college football games. The college football games have been my favorite events to attend. NASCAR and drag racing have also been some of my favorite events to attend.
I was reminded a few weeks ago while staying with my father-in-law how much I liked drag racing. We sat and watched a few races while he filled me in on everyone. He knew so much. He knew everything about the racers, teams, cars, venues and so much more. It was like listening to Mark. He also knew so much about any sport really. Malory, our youngest, and I were talking not long ago about how much her daddy loved sports. He had his favorites, and we knew who they were. No matter what event I watched with him, he would always play the commentator. Mal and I still joke that we could turn off the sound and Mark would say everything the commentators would say. I used to make fun of him being such a know it all, but he really did know so much. As I listen now to the games, I miss his voice beside me.
Out of the many things I miss about Mark, one is watching sports with him. I told him since we had 3 daughters, and they didn’t love sports, at least at the time, I would watch with him. So, I grew to love most sports. I loved it especially during football season. No, we didn’t have the same favorite teams but since we liked teams in different divisions, we would cheer for each other’s team. But if they played each other, it was on! It was a good healthy rivalry that we enjoyed. Right now, I just finished watching his favorite baseball team, the LA Dodgers, clinch the playoffs to go to the World Series. They also happen to be our youngest daughter’s team. She has really missed her daddy this past week, but she is raising a new generation to love the Dodgers. Her oldest, Ethan, is now 9 and he loves the Dodgers. They have watched some games together and he even got a jersey for his birthday. We will watch some of the World Series together and remember Mark and his love for the game.
For me it is nice to have some great memories like this of Mark. In 33 years married we attended so many sports events and even took the girls to some. I am looking forward to my grandkids growing up, picking their teams, and watching together. Who knows, I may even attend an event or two with them. And since you asked, here are my teams (some are for Mark): LSU Tigers, Pittsburgh Steelers, TX Rangers, LA Dodgers, Denver Broncos, CU Buffs, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Springs Switchbacks, just to name a few.
I know this isn’t a typical blog post from me, but it is my thoughts on a cool, fall day. I really just started watching sports again this year, so it has been a month or so of reminiscing days long gone. I am so glad I am in a place that I can do some things that we used to do together and enjoy them. I don’t want to stop enjoying them because he isn’t here with me. I will find new family or friends to watch with and know that he would want me to still be a loud cheerleader for my teams and of course, his.
I guess what I can leave you with is how important it is to still enjoy life. Even though our loved one is gone, doesn’t mean we quit living life. We shouldn’t stop doing the things we enjoyed with them because they aren’t here. If you enjoyed them when your loved one was alive, keep enjoying them. I hope you would want the same for them if the roles were reversed. I know Mark would be cheering for my teams…maybe not as loud as I do but that’s ok. I am kinda loud!
Confident in His love,
Isaiah 54:10
