Breakfast With Dad -→ Dessert with Dad! Ending on a Sweet Note

            Like I’ve said before, my dad and I are close. I am a prime example of Daddy’s Girl and I embrace that with every fiber of my being. During these past couple of months my dad and I have done breakfast every week. Some weeks that was with other members of the family, others it was just him and me.  This past week we did something a little different. We still went to Ted’s Bulletin but this time we went for dessert. He got a huge chocolate cake. I got the smoothest piece of banana cream pie I have ever had. We spent an hour and a half just chatting and being together. I always smile a lot with this man. He is amazing and so wise. He is the biggest influence on my life.

            I could never show as much appreciation for my father as I would want to. He is phenomenal. He pushed me to do so much including learning to read before I started school and learning how to drive a car. We have an amazing relationship and I really believe sports has a huge hand to play in it.

            Both of my sisters and I have always played sports. We started when we were young and it kept with us throughout our childhood. The difference is we all played for different reasons. My older sister played because her friends played. My younger sister played because my mom said she had to. I played because I wanted to be even closer with my dad. Of course I loved playing. I wouldn’t have played soccer for over 13 years if that wasn’t the case. There is something about taking part in sports that brings people together.

            Going through the process of learning a sport (playing or just the rules) has a way of bringing people together that you don’t really get with much else. My dad was the coach of my older sister’s soccer team for a couple of years and I was jealous. I thought she was going to get closer to him than I was. So I brought him outside and had him help me practice. I had him teach me things like headers. I had him play tough so I could become a better defender. He was the reason I loved the game so much, especially at the beginning.

            I thank sports and I thank my dad for making me the person I am today. The combined efforts have taught me about being a better person and having a strong work ethic. I know what it takes to be part of a team. I know about the importance of hard work and commitment.

            I graduate in a couple weeks and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. No matter what, as long as I have sports and, more importantly, as long as I have my dad, I can do anything. I can take on anything that comes my way. That’s pretty cool if you ask me. Bring it. 

J

Draft Party 2015

            Yesterday was the Washington Redskins Draft Day party at FedExField. I got to work the event and I have to tell you, it was fantastic!!! Players were there, the cheerleaders were there, and fans upon fans came out to celebrate the NFL Draft on a beautiful day.

           

            There’s something about an organization that looks to embrace the fans as much as the Washington Redskins do. So much about what they do revolves around the fans. Of course with the media in Washington, D.C. you would not know about it. They are quick to jump on anything and everything and blow it up completely. The Redskins really do a lot.

For Draft Day as an example they opened up the stadium for the day to let the fans in on the experience. There was free parking that was actually great parking. It was free admission as well. There was fantastic food (not free but not just hotdogs and chicken tenders). Players took plenty of time to sign autographs and take pictures with everyone big and small. The Super Bowl Trophies were on display and you could see the eyes of the littlest fans widen as they walked by. You could see the excitement behind them grow for the season and the future ahead.

The Washington Redskins have not had the most absolutely amazing record for the past… 15 years? It’s been rough and not only for the team but the fans that support it. Players and coaches have come and gone but fans have stayed throughout. I know I have stayed. I know my family has and so many other people have. The organization sees that and I think they have realized that they have to keep the ties close between the team and the fans. Draft Day was definitely a great way to do it.

And so ends a great weekend...

            I really don’t mind train rides. I’d mind it less if my back weren’t killing me but that’s life. I’ll get over it. I got the opportunity to go down and visit my sister for a couple of days. Friday was travel day and we went to go see Eric Church. AMAZING show. If you get the opportunity to go, take it. Saturday was a day of food and staying out of the rain. Of course this included things like happy hour and television. Clearly we live on the edge.

           

Our television day was successful. We watched Scandal and so many episodes of Modern Family it was insane. Of course we watched the most recent Grey’s Anatomy episode and spent a good amount of time yelling at the television set because of it. We also watched the Bruce Jenner interview. That… That was interesting.

           

            I will admit, until I watched Keeping Up With The Kardashians I had never heard of him. Maybe the name came up but he was not someone I knew. Once the show started he quickly became my favorite character and I learned a few things about him. That’s why when this interview was first talked about months ago, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was either A – a publicity stunt or B – the tabloids are evil. Many guys have long hair. I’ve seen many guys have painted nails. Nothing surprises me anymore and I took the “let him do what he wants to do” approach to the situation. When my MOTHER (yes, mother) told me he got his Adam’s apple reduced I thought it was a little strange. Again, let him do his thing. Maybe there was a health problem.

            When this interview was aired I was at the Eric Church concert so I did not get to see it live. I heard that 17 million people did so I knew it had to be good. Bruce Jenner was everywhere Saturday morning and we were quickly drawn in. My older sister does not usually get involved with information like this but even she couldn’t look away from the television. This once great athlete, the best in the world, was identifying as a woman. He is going to go through a process to actually become the woman he has always been inside.

            The hardest part for my sister was knowing that he was once this world-class athlete and now he is a woman. I’ll give it to her, it is hard to wrap your head around it if it doesn’t apply to you and/or you don’t know anyone going through that situation. Me? It all made sense. I made the comment (don’t judge), “Of course! He would be a woman!”

            The decathlon is one of the most intense athletic competitions a man can put his body through. The training is intense. You have to be a “manly man” to compete. If Bruce Jenner was confused about being a woman, pulling off a win in the decathlon would be a huge way to try to convince himself that he is just a man. Kind of like, “only the manliest of men can compete in this event. If I win, I must be the manliest man ever!”

            Athletics has a history of presenting that kind of thinking. To do some sports or some events, the thought is you have to be a genuine guys guy. You have to be tough. Once that mentality is created the athlete can do nothing but support it if he wants to be accepted or even successful. If Bruce had any thoughts that he might be a woman they had to be quieted somehow. Training for the decathlon and winning was his attempt to silence everything.

            I feel like you see this a lot in sports. It’s an arena where men are supposed to be men and women are supposed to be women. The sports are separate and the training varies on intensity. To make it big, you have to be the best of your sex. It’s hard. If you are having issues with who you truly are sports are a great way to try to quiet those issues and to put your focus & determination into something else. In saying that I guess Bruce Jenner’s secret isn’t too surprising.

            I’ll support Bruce. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him… For Her.

            Also, what was with the huge shock of him being a Republican?! Sure Diane Sawyer can accept him really being a her but the fact he’s a Republican shocked her to her core.

            You go, Bruce! I might just be a nobody in Northern Virginia, but I’ve got your back!

I'm Torn!

            The Capitals won!!! 5-1! We are finally up in the series and I am so stoked! Spoke to my boss about it when I came in today which was nice. I’m so very happy.

            Hockey update is over. Now an issue that tears me apart: Kids playing outside. At this point in life, I want it to happen BUT I don’t think it is safe anymore.

            When I was growing up, we played outside. Whether it was out on the farm while my parents were at work or in the neighborhood with the other kids, my sisters and I were outside. We played soccer, we were on swings, we played kickball, there was jump rope; my neighborhood had a pool and for years we would spend our summers there. Also, we would watch each other. Kids would look out for other kids. We were young but we were taught the responsibility that was necessary to look out for each other so that we didn’t need our parents to escort us everywhere.

            Nowadays? No. I want to say kids should be given the same freedom but for a couple different reasons I’m going to say that that would be a bad idea.

1.     Areas are becoming more and more urbanized. There are more cars everywhere. A neighborhood is now just a pass through for cars trying to get to and from work as fast as they possibly can. This is especially true in the Northern Virginia area.

2.     There seem to be more creeps around. I find more and more reasons every time I watch the news to think that children should never go outside to play again.

3.     Immaturity levels are down. I have been observing this for years and I know adults are seeing it too. Those that are growing up even 5 years younger than me are not as mature as the kids when I was growing up and those older than me. I don’t know if it is a different parenting style or what but they act bratty and entitled. They don’t look out for each other, they look out for themselves.

4.     Hover parents. The ones that won’t let their children grow up and succeed because they know what’s best or are too involved with the kids’ lives.

Playing outside definitely helped my development when I was a kid. I had a free space to try out different games and sports.  I made friends and definitely developed personality traits due to these experiences. I started soccer after my sister did but I kept with it because I had fun playing with kids in my neighborhood. I stuck with swim team for years because I could hang out with my friends in a space that was not supervised by adults 24/7.

Children are not getting the same opportunities I got when I was a kid. I know sports shaped who I am and I know I had to rise to the challenge of responsibility when I was still a kid. I wasn’t forced to “grow up” too fast but I was forced to accept the fact that my actions affect others. This lack of opportunity is not their fault. I can’t put it all on the kids. Granted they are inside playing video games more but I want to look at it without attacking video game culture. Without attacking that, I look at the reasons and I don’t know what side of the fence I stand on.

The Boys are Back!!

            I have been waiting for months. I have been waiting since football season ended. THE BOYS ARE BACK!!!

            The Washington Redskins have returned to the area for off-season workouts and training. YES!!! Why am I so excited? This is the beginning of a fresh start. I think it is the freshest start this team has had in years. New GM, new season, no wins (or loses), and new hope. It is a beautiful feeling and I’m trying to make it contagious. Today has been testing me but I am NOT going to let it take my mood away from me. I absolutely refuse to give it that power.

            Looking at the Redskins’ Facebook page and following their SnapChat account has definitely helped to pump up my mood. The players are back at Redskins Park! I’m not going to lie, they’re just lifting weights. It’s weight room activities. It’s the stuff that I see at the gym and it doesn’t even catch my attention. But because it is the Redskins and it is my team, I could not be more excited. Actually I could be. I could try to go to Redskins Park and get an autograph. But I wouldn’t be able to get through the gate or even into the building. I’m also not a stalker or a creep. There is a fine line between extreme fan and restraining order. Never will I ever get to that point.

            I know not everyone is as excited as I am for this day but I also know I’m not alone. There seems to be newfound optimism in the DC Metro Area today. Nats won, Caps aren’t out of the playoffs, and the Redskins are back to work.

            Maybe the DC teams can bring some championship bling back to the area this year.

            Wishful thinking but we got this!!!! :) 

Sports Fans - We Kind of Suck

    The title of this post is not the most loving of my people, but I believe there’s a lot of truth behind it. Sports fans can be some of the nicest people you will ever meet. They will welcome you into their home, give you free food, and provide a loving and welcoming experience that you may never get anywhere else. They will have your back and stand beside you through thick and thin. IFF (a term from math class meaning “if and only if”) you are supporting the same team.

    If you are supporting the opposite team or, even worse, the rival team, that experience is definitely different. They will become loud. They will become obnoxious. They will argue about every little thing. They will pick on you with such gusto you’d think they were getting paid $10 million to do it! But they’re doing it for free.  And the best part? They will feel no remorse about it. If their team wins, you will never hear the end of it. If they lose, excuses will come up for reasons, they will shut down, they will acquire a horrible mood, or it will be a lovely combination of any or all of those three.

    These qualities are true of all real sports fans. We feel such a deep connection to the team that when they lose, it hurts us as well. We can brush it off like, “we had an off game, next week will be better,” but inside we are crying. When something bad happens to them, we take a personal offense. I am a fan of many sports but I primarily follow the mainstream ones. I know someone who is big into the less mainstream ones, i.e. paintball and electronic sports. He claims that only the mainstream sports fans get so crazy. “There’s too much hype for no real reason because the athletes aren’t actually doing that much…” Blah blah blah blah blah. They are athletes. All of them. Mainstream or not, they all go through their own process of training, practicing, and competing. Anyway, when he watches paintball or an e-sport competition, he gets just as bad as I do when I watch football. There’s a lot of yelling (and I mean YELLING) at the screen and the refs like they can hear me. There’s celebration over a win and there is heartbreak over a loss. Mainstream or not, we all have feelings.

    Another thing that all sports fans do that makes us somewhat sucky, when the team wins: “WE WON!”  When the team loses: “They lost.” Not always. I know many times I have said either “they won” or “we lost.” But when the passion is high and the adrenaline is pumping, we celebrate with them but they are on their own when they lose. The wording is fascinating. See if you can notice it the next time you are at a game. Once you pick up on it, it will stick with you.

    Sports fans come in all shapes and sizes but one thing that you can’t really deny, you get some of the most snooty people anywhere in Sports World!! Geez, know-it-alls. You know who I’m talking about too. They are the ones that are quick to jump on you when you get one really obscure statistic wrong. You might say a score wrong or not in the proper way and they are quick to pounce on it and point it out. Oh he is #79 and not #89? My bad. I clearly did not mean to offend you or apparently your entire way of life by saying the wrong number. It was not intentional. Yes I will be more careful next time… Jerk. Mistakes happen but sports fans jump on it like the grammar police on an internet post. We can’t be nice and correct them either, oh no. We can’t say, “Do you mean #79?” The sky would probably fall.

    I could go on and on. I love my people and I hate my people. I am one of the people that can fall into any of these people depending on the team/player/game/situation. Instead of my ranting continuing, I turned to Facebook. I asked my friends what they hated most about sports fans of any kind and here are some of the responses I got (I said I would post no names):

    ”They Yell a lot and take it too seriously.”

    ”That life stops when their team is playing.”

    ”People disagree and get in fights. Also Facebook fees are blown up when teams play.”

    ”That the people rooting for the other team don’t agree with me.”

    ”Fair-weather fans.”

    ”They get really ‘ragy’ when they lose.”

    ”I hate having to look at the naked (sometimes painted) torsos of chubby sports fans, the likes of which should never be unclothed in public. Definitely not okay. Also, the ones who ALWAYS think the refs are cheating for the opposing team.”

I Missed It :(

            I MISSED IT. I am so disappointed. I had the opportunity this past Saturday to go to an Oriole’s game if I helped a friend and her significant other move into their new house. Like a true fan, I will do almost anything for free tickets. Oh, did I mention the offer included dinner and drinks as well? Life got in the way AND I MISSED IT.

            The memories I have that take place at Camden Yards are amazing. When my older sister turned 12 we took her to a game. We all got on the big screen and it was BEAUTIFUL. It’s also the place where I realized I probably am adopted in some way shape or form. I went to a game with my cousins (who are supposedly related to me by blood) and they did not care at all. They wanted to talk about video games. They are my age. We went when I was 17. They wanted to talk about video games. AND MY AUNT WAS ENCOURAGING IT! No. We are at a baseball game. Pay attention to what’s going on right in front of you!

            I’ve gone quite a bit throughout my life but I had never been to a home opener. This was the chance! Free food, drinks, and a baseball game just to help someone move into a house. I wanted to be there so bad! Life. Sometimes you can’t win.

            I heard it was great. They had beautiful weather to enjoy an Orioles win. I had beautiful weather to wish I could have been outside in it. They had a fantastic time and their house is great.

It’s been a couple days and I’m still jealous.

Human Error - Written on Tuesday, Posted on Friday, One of those weeks...

                It’s Tuesday. I've got to say, 99% of the time, my energy level is up. Even at work it remains pretty high! Today… Today is a challenge. I even got my butt to the gym this morning! Normally that puts me in a great place! What is going on?! There is an extremely high probability that the reason for today’s issues is a complete mystery. It could just be in my head. It probably is just in my head. I don’t know!
                Sports. Today. Well, Wisconsin lost to Duke last night in the NCAA Championship Game. I suppose that was a bummer for some people. For me, I love the controversy. Calls were made that should not have been made and if they were called correctly the game could have ended differently. I have seen this many times in different sporting events. It’s the butterfly effect! What if they had called the foul differently? What if the ball was given to the Badgers?
                Usually I try to make this argument: the game results should never be decided by a missed call. People make the calls. People are humans. Humans make mistakes. If you didn't play the game well enough to have some human error thrown in and still win, you did not play well enough. It’s cynical, yes. It’s unrealistic, yes. There have been too many times in sports history where a call decided the game because two teams played extremely well. Among all the cynicism is a little bit of hope. I would like to hope that the better team comes out on top. This is especially true in a championship game. If one team wins because of human error on the part of those officiating, is that necessarily the better team?
                No. The better team does not always win. I’m not saying Wisconsin was better than Duke. As a matter of fact, I have no idea which one was better. I didn't follow either team during the season so I can’t say. I also know people that have gone/have ties to both schools so my loyalties did not lie in one place. But, to quote Amanda Bynes in She’s the Man, “Speaking as a completely objective third party observer with no personal interest in the matter,” it sucks to see many friends on social media upset because the team that deserved to win/played a better game lost due to quite a few human errors. It sucks because they are upset and because it blows up all over my homepage and it drives me crazy. Much like during election season, the complaining is overwhelming and those who are not complaining are being smug trolls.
                Washington area sports teams seem to have this issue a lot. If there is human error, it most likely was against them and it most likely cost them the game. The luck of D.C.? Pretty much. This type of thing is almost a guarantee as a Washington sports fan. Are we used to it? Yes. Does it still hurt? Yes. Do we still complain? Well, we are right next to D.C., aren't we? The area is a hotbed of human error but we will still be up in arms over a missed/wrong call.
                And a tomato juice squirted onto my white shirt. Awesome.

-.-