My relationship with sports has been the center of many jokes and stories when gathered around the dinner table with family. My mom always says that I tried every sport just long enough for her to pay for the uniform, and then I was onto the next.
OK, yes, I may have tried every sport as a kid, and never quite found my niche. There may or may not be a video out there somewhere of me making a shot in the other team’s basketball hoop. And, yes, maybe I was too afraid to tell my mom that I had quit the swim team… so for months she would drop me off at practice, and I would wait for her to leave and then go hide at Taco Bell for the duration of “practice.” So, I guess I am fair game when it comes to all those jokes and stories. Although I myself have never been Sporty Spice, I do really love sports.
What I have always loved about sports, and have grown to respect and appreciate more in my adulthood, is how they bond and bring people together. I love the sense of camaraderie. I love living in a college town. I love gamedays and seeing everyone dressed in their black and gold. I love bringing swarms of all kinds of people together for a common cause. It is one of the few times in life that your background doesn’t matter — all that matters is the team you have in common.
I love the sense of nostalgia that goes along with sports. I love the history and tradition of sports. I think Friday night lights have a certain smell in the air, something that you can just feel in your bones. As I’ve mentioned before, I spent eight years of my life on a high school football field between my daughter cheering and my son playing football. High school can be a rough time in kids’ lives… but on a Friday night, in the student section, there is one cause, one common goal.
Through my own personal experiences and the ones with my kids, I have had the joy of experiencing cheerleading, football, dance, volleyball, competitive baseball, and track and field, just to name a few. I have witnessed the dedication that coaches have to their sport and to their players. A coach’s brain never shuts off. Not only do they love their sport, I have seen firsthand how much coaches love “their” kids. Coaches can make or break a kid in sports, I have been very fortunate to know some very loving and dedicated coaches. Outside of the collegiate or professional level, these coaches are not in it for the money. They are in it simply for the love of the game and the dedication to its people.
COMO is a sports town, and I take pride in that. Outside of the colleges and the teams that everyone knows about, just down the road and around the corner, you can find many teams and sports complexes we are blessed to have. From Columbia Parks & Rec, to Daniel Boone Little League, and so many others in between. From kids to youth to adults… There truly is something for everyone. Maybe you aren’t sure which one is for you or your child but go ahead and try them all! At the very least, it makes for a good story.
