Sports Games

(I'm hoping some of you Modern Family fans got a chuckle from that title?)

I have never been much of an athlete.  Sure, my parents enrolled me in softball and soccer, along with piano and dance, just to give me that well-rounded childhood experience.  But I was the kid who had to have the tee brought out after 10 attempted swings at the softball, and who made soccer goals for the other team by accident.  Sports were not my forte.  I experienced a brief peak in my athletic performance during my college intramural football experience, but it took me a whole four years to figure out what I was doing and to actually make a touchdown.  

When I reflect on my experience with sports, I realize that part of my problem was the combination of being competitive and being part of a team.  While I loved the social, interpersonal aspect of a team, the idea of having everyone's success or failure on my shoulders made me pretty anxious and timid.  I knew I wasn't naturally athletic, and that I didn't intuitively understand the rules and strategies of most sports.  Those inadequacies made me fearful of messing up and ruining the game for the entire team.  Perfectionist much?  My other issue is that I am not much of a competitor.  I would be happy if we just didn't keep score and played for fun, every time.    

Although no one will ever call me a sports fan, I am definitely better at watching sports than playing them.  I don't seek out sports to watch on my own, but I can enjoy attending a sporting event or even watching a game on television with Jonathan.  Since I didn't attend a university with a big sports program, I never really developed any major team loyalties.  Combine that with my, "Why does anyone have to lose?  Everyone is a winner!" complex, and I am basically a potluck fan.

So here I sit on a Saturday night, home alone and watching the Baylor/OU game.  I'm sad that OSU lost last night because they are an underdog that rarely enjoys such a successful season, and you just want them to go all the way.  Plus my brother and many close friends attended OSU, so they have a place in my heart.  Tonight, I'm rooting for Baylor, because I received my master's degree there and love those Bears, and since they are also big time underdogs it would be super fun to see them get a big win.  But that makes me sad for OU.  My hubby adores OU, and I've come to love them over the years.  They are just a solid college football team, and I think Bob Stoops is a classy guy.  

Likewise, I'll always cheer for the University of Memphis (worked there), OBU (went there, worked there), the Royals (hubby loves 'em, God knows why), and the Broncos (daddy is a Coloradan, so I grew up watching them).  Some people would call that being a fair-weathered fan.  I just call it, "I don't really care, so why not cheer for everyone?"  

It will be fun to see if our boys take to any particular sports.  I'm rooting for soccer so that I don't have to see their pretty little faces get knocked around in football, or sit through super long games like baseball, or bite all of my fingernails off because basketball is just too stressful.  But you can bet that if either of them get into a sport, then I will be a real sports fan!  (Although I might be that mom who has to hide under the bleachers if her kid is the kicker or something like that...not sure I could handle it!)

And on that note, Baylor just finished of OU with an insane touchdown!  And I am going to bed.  I've stayed up 'til 11 watching football, which is pretty impressive for someone who doesn't really love sports games.  ;)