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As a historical romance author people are sometimes surprised to learn that I am a sports fan. I would not call myself a fanatic, and I only enjoy some sports, but not others. Why, you might ask do I like the sports that I do so much?
As a child I lived in a small town, but it was a small town that prided itself on its high school sports prowess. As the joiner I was, I was a three-sport athlete. Please understand the term athlete in this sense is used loosely. I was not a child who enjoyed running for any reason and am still that way as an adult. However, I enjoyed the people, and in general the competition. My sports were, because these were the only ones offered to girls at my school, field hockey, basketball, and softball. My favorite was basketball. As a tall girl with hips, I found my niche and was great on defense.
Fast forward to adulthood and I still played pick up basketball often, and league softball here and there. After kids and responsibilities, I kind of stopped playing on my own. However, my dad was
an avid Red Sox fan. As a kid, we didn’t have tv on demand, so we only watched the games when they happened to be televised, but we could listen on the radio. (I’m talking the 80s people, not the 1940s). I lost my dad when I was 21 and I found myself drawn to listening to the games when I was driving somewhere, then when TV had the Red Sox games televised regularly, I would watch as well. It makes me feel closer to my dad when I watch.
I also enjoy hockey, and my dad had something to do with that as well, though he wasn’t an avid hockey fan. My parents made sure when the Olympics were on tv, everything stopped, and we watched to show our support and our patriotism to our country. We were watching when the
“Miracle on Ice” happened, and my dad’s response, which for a guy who didn’t get too worked up about anything, was coming out of his chair yelling stuck with me and so I watch the Bruins hockey in honor of my dad and what he taught me about being for something even if you are on the side lines.
I have attended several Red Sox home games at Fenway Park and love the energy of the crowds and the nostalgia it all evokes. See, you knew I’d get that history stuff in there somewhere.
I think that sports can for a time bring people who might otherwise be on opposite sides together for a common goal and today that is very important. When times in general are hard, if
our team is winning it is a glimmer of better times to come. It even gives common ground to people who are rivals in their times. They have common knowledge that can be used to further get to know one another.
I am not however a football fan (American Football, NFL). I do not understand the game and just don’t understand the vibe from the community.
I was taught by all my coaches through the years that sports is so much more than the scores on the board. If you can see that, you can understand the love of the games.
Next up we have Jenna Da Sie https://jennadasie.com