Saturdays may be for the boys, but that means Sundays are for the girls right? I often get asked, “how in the world did you make your make-up and Disney princess loving two-year-old into a sports fanatic?” Simple! She sees-no feels-the electric thrill that my family and myself experience from the moment we wake up unnerved on game day all the way through the roars and cheers till the bitter end. Week after week. No breaks (thanks to NFL Sunday Ticket!). It’s all about consistency. After all, she’s a small child who thrives on routine.
As a proud fellow of the diehard Packer faithful, my daughter sees the historical Green Bay “G” on everything from blankets to sweatshirts, keychains to hats, jammies to foam fingers that, yes, we use in front of the television on game days! There is nothing like passionate yells each Sunday afternoon and watching your littlest wholeheartedly subscribe to the hype. Not going to lie, this season would have been really special to watch my mini-me, a year older, “Go Pack Go!” her way through the postseason, but we were unfortunately axed at week 17 after an ill-fated collarbone injury to Packers’ leader, Aaron Rodgers.
Okay, so she is not only into the NFL. This past March, the hype of the NCAA’s March Madness was enough to inspire me to buy a Little Tikes basketball hoop after buzzer beaters and face-painted, crazed fans turned my daughter into a living room cheerleader. With no true team of her own, she was really just enjoying the spirit of the game and innocently shouting, “TOUCHDOWN!” each time a basketball made it’s way through the net.
Whether it be football, basketball, or any sport for that matter, they are all exhilarating in their own right; but it’s really so much more. It’s creating fun-loving rituals year after year each week, watching our young ones take in the wins, and more importantly the losses. Teaching the art of accepting things for what they are will carry on throughout this crazy thing we call life. Did mom have to pitifully wipe away a few tears after the blow to Number 12? Yes. But did my little see her mom go along with life and the game? Absolutely. Now if you want a laugh, check the video of my daughter’s reaction the Monday morning following the Packer quarterback’s thump. I spy a little lesson in empathy!
