My brain is tired. It does not want to put together cohesive thought processes any longer...but blog I said I would do every other week and so blog I will! This year I hope to walk through things that are at the core of who I am. While this next thing isn't necessarily profound it is a central part of me, nonetheless.
I love sports. Most sports, actually. I always forget how passionate I am about them until I'm talking to one of my many international friends, or West coast friends and I see their eyes seemingly glaze over. Most people like sports, but when I start talking about all the things I love I realize that I may be on a different kind of level than just a "normal" liking of them.
My first memories of sports in general come from an incredibly young age. I would say my very earliest memories that I have are myself and my brother Tim playing basketball behind the school in our massively large town of Crawfordsville, Iowa. (yeah, that's a joke...my town was about 300 people soaking wet)
I don't know if it really qualifies to say that we were playing "together" as Tim is 10 years older than I am. It was more Tim playing and coaching me on how to make a layup, what a free through was and how to shoot with the purest follow through, and me watching him wide-eyed. I remember spending hours and hours playing basketball with Tim. Tim is by far the best coach I have ever had in any sport at all. I was probably the only 3rd grader who could actually shoot and make a left-handed layup thanks to him.
It will come as no surprise to you that Tim was also the cause of my first sports injury. What 14 year old boy doesn't want a free target to practice punting at who will robotically return the ball enthusiastically every time just because they adore him? ;) Who can blame him? Don't worry, I just jammed my finger...nothing major.
Growing up I had a natural knack for pretty much all sports that I wanted to. I loved to watch my brother play soccer, absolutely loved basketball and most of all, I loved football. This was probably due to the fact that we lived so close to Iowa City. When you grow up in a state that has no professional presence you love College sports and you pretty much know every person's name on every team that we have. I remember listening to WHO in the snow, during tornado warnings, we listened no matter what. We hardly ever missed Iowa games.
Due to my early exposure to sports, amazing hand-eye coordination and the fact that I was taller than most boys in my class I could usually out-run them, out maneuver them and often times frustrate them. I remember this one time when I was a fifth grader, playing basketball against this boy in school who dared like Iowa State over my beloved Hawkeyes. I would have none of it and decided to face him head on in a game of one on one basketball. This ended in me totally dominating and him being so frustrated that he tripped me, causing a massive scrape up my arm which produced a scar that I still wear today. I think what frustrated him the most, though, was the fact that I refused to cry...but rather laughed as I got up. Talk about salt in the wound!
I'm not sure, as I've never really asked my mom, but I think I probably came home with a lot of cuts. I do remember racing around town on my roller blades like a crazy child and coming home with bloody knees from skidding down the only hill that we had in Crawfordsville over and over. I probably put 1,000 miles on those little blades, and it seemed like nothing could slow me down. I also have a very vivid memory of flipping over my bike headfirst at one point and landing squarely on my bottom, getting up and just continuing to ride home.
Eventually the boys caught up to me. I thought maybe I was going to get lucky and be some sort of giant, but in 8th grade I stopped growing completely. Their skills improved and mine stayed relatively the same throughout high school and college. But I grew more and more to love the ins and outs of the games that I had grown to love so much. I know most of the rules and formations of all of them (and yes boys-I actually know just as much as you about football even though I was never allowed to play it for myself...you have my brothers to thank for that).
I don't really know where I'm going with all of this except to mention that it is a massive part of who I am. I love the fundamentals in sports. I love watching games where players are disciplined, have sound fundamentals, techniques and work outrageously hard. I don't like the showy and those who don't actually work hard just because of their talent. (just ask my housemate how much I love defense in football not offense).
There's something about sports that makes me more aware of how I live my life. In a moment a half step can give way to an open lane and a free basket, a simple few inches of getting your knee over the ball can yield a goal, correct positioning can yield an interception. The list goes on and on. When I was young I used to love sports because of the freedom and joy it brought me. Now I find myself loving sports even more because I see us in them. Life is a constant positioning and repositioning. How do we respond? Where do we choose to spend our energy? While we're here on earth it's all about how we choose to position ourselves over and over.
Have you every watched a game where you're aware right away of what team is going to win? They just play differently in every way? They position themselves towards victory and there's just something that says that the other team doesn't have a chance? Yeah...that's us. And we're in a constant place where we can position ourselves in the same way. I know life's not a game and all that jazz...but I think the analogy works.
So, that's it! I have hours and hours of sports experience. Practice after practice, game after game. It all started on a concrete slab and I'm so thankful for every moment. This is a part of who I am and I can't deny it. To my future husband, yes, I know just as much as you. Sorry, you can blame my brother Tim.
What are your favorite sports memories? How have they affected you?
Until next time...
-L-
I promise next time will be more "spiritual." ;)
