This one won’t require a ton of thinking because I love sportsball. I know it’s a “uh, why,” kind of response from some people, but we all need that thing in our lives.
For me, here are my favorites, both to play and watch:
- Basketball: I’ve made it clear about my love of the sport. It’s funny, I’ve grown to love this game because in high school, I did not. I was not the most talented athletically, and our coach never helped me feel part of any team. This love took off in Alaska, and I never looked back. My wife and I were first year teachers AND coaches, working with a varsity team who really did not want much to do with two brand new coaches. We were a last-second shot away from the state tournament, but it was more than that. We won games we had no business winning, and our team, while 9 – 12, started out 0 – 7, with some serious attitude issues. We learned that once we allowed the girls some freedom, their joy in the game came back. That was a big deal for a couple of 23 year old, first-time coaches. And I was hooked. While I didn’t see it there, I’ve come to enjoy the teaching part of basketball. I love, as a middle school teacher, that I can teach them during the day, then see them at practice. That relationship building helps so much. Basketball is like chess. You do this, so I’ll counter with that. It’s fun to see what you do that frustrates other coaches and players, just like I’m sure it’s fun for them to see ME frustrated.
- Football: This is where I thought I was heading. I was a decent football player for a player who didn’t get out until his junior year. I ticked a few people off by taking a starting job, both on offense and defense, because I was too good to keep off the field. However, I wasn’t anything great either. However, I had high hopes to play in college. So I walked on at Winona State, a D-III school in Minnesota, and quickly found out that, no, I had zero business being on the same field as those players. I was (am) very introverted, and that doesn’t fit well with the personality needed by a college athlete, at whatever level. So I hung up my cleats, but fully expected to be a coach somewhere and teach high school social studies. Life has that funny way of saying, “The hell you will,” because that is nowhere near where I ended up. However, I did “coach” at a local high school during college, and learned a lot about people and how to make those connections. I’ll never forget the super highs and the players crying on the bus lows. Now, I like to watch football, but it’s not the thing I do, that will always be basketball. I’m a lifetime Cowboys fan from way back in the day of Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Roger Staubach, and Tony Dorsett. I tease my old college roommate about all the draft picks we got when Hershel Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, which led to a Cowboys resurgence in the mid-1990s. I do enjoy a good NFL game, but I’m not quite the fan I used to be just because I’ve not kept up with teams, players, and coaches.
- Soccer: Before my change of scenery in teaching, I would have never said this out loud, but my first class in my current school district forced me to watch and enjoy a good soccer game. And it was so much fun! They were sixth graders at the time, but they were so into the game that is was more fun to watch them react than the game. However, that was my first introduction. We then traveled to Scotland and Ireland that summer. It was the final EuroCup qualifying game for Scotland. We’d gotten back from a walk and wanted a drink, so we wandered down to a street with a bunch of pubs in Edinburgh, only to find they were incredibly packed. We didn’t know soccer until we watched Scots watch soccer. There was screaming and cheering and cursing (oh, there was cursing) and promises to God made. With two minutes left, Hungry scored the winning goal during the 99th minute, and you went from a pub that was rowdy to almost silent. It was heartbreaking, yet amazing to watch all of these grown people cheer and cry with such passion. We traveled to Dublin next and watched England play Slovakia, with the crowd in that pub being a pro-England group! England was down early, the roared back, and when we left, the celebration was just raucous! I was hooked. I’ve snuck downstairs and watched some club matches, listened to my students rave about their favorite player, and am looking forward to the World Cup in the US this summer. My students are amazing when I say that we “didn’t have soccer” when I was in high school. It certainly dates me, but they enjoy questioning what year I was born when that comes up! Ugh. 🙂
Like I said, not much thinking with today’s words, not much depth, but it’s fun, and sometimes, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered!
The Life of a Conflicted Teacher 
Leave a comment