However my "boyish" tendencies go past that. I don't care for pink, I will make a bold statement and say my daughter will wear little to no pink. I don't know how to do my make-up, half the time Drew is wiping streaks of make-up off of my cheeks when we get out into sunlight. My hair is 99% of the time in a ponytail (but hey I still think I look damn good). I have a bit of a dirty mouth and I HATE to lose. It is always a fight amongst members of my family of who has to be my partner in password because I am not a pleasant teammate.
I have always refused to fit into that cookie cutter image of sugar and spice and everything nice. I became obsessed with basketball in around the 3rd grade and wore only basketball shorts and t-shirts for several years. During which time when most girls were having Make Up parties, I enjoyed a Nike birthday party. When I was around 10 or 11 My uncle gave me a VHS tape of "Greatest NBA Finals Moments" for Christmas and while I don't fancy myself a pro sports girl, more of a college follower, this video exposed me to the names of Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, and many others (the name of Larry Bird had already been burned into me since the day I was born by my father). I distinctly remember taking this video to a sleepover with me and being very disappointed when none of the other girls seemed as excited to watch it as me.
I had a Kobe Bryant and Nike poster on my wall, wrote down play by play in my notebook what happened in games of the NBA finals (which the Lakers were playing in). I even tried in vain to become a fan of the WNBA. I can appreciate it for what it is, but in my opinion trying to watch one of their games is like torture.
My basketball life only made it to my freshman year of high school but I pride myself on saying I never spent one day in a cheerleading uniform or a pageant dress in my life. Those things seemed so superficial to me. Granted some of my best friends were cheerleaders I preferred to cheer from the stands behind them where I could freely yell profanities at the refs and opposing players. Moral of the story: I love the game of basketball, God didn't bless me with much talent for it but I love it like nothing else.
For Christmas this year I bought my dad a book I stumbled across in Barnes & Noble "When the Game Was Ours" about the ever intertwined careers of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. I thought my dad would enjoy it because, as I figured out in my high school years, the NBA isn't what it was when Magic and Larry played. (Which is why I believe more people flock to college basketball, myself included). I was very happy when my dad finished the book in a few short days and I could become a true "Indian giver" (that is such a politically incorrect statement) and take the book home with me to read. I finished it this week and would encourage any basketball fan to read it. The way those 2 loved the game and respected each other and the story around their 2 teams is just what a basketball fan like me views as too good to be true.
I call it a must read, even for those of you who say you're a "football fan" like my husband. I believe any sports fan can appreciate the competition and love of the game. My two best friends in the world are basketball freaks like me, thank God we all follow the same team, (unlike me they were both blessed with more talent and played all of their high school years and now each of them has had their turn coaching this sport we love). Because they were closest to me all through high school I grew to believe that all girls were like me that all girls checked out from school with their friends to watch their teams play in March. However I see all around me in this football town that it just isn't the case. Girls at the football games are more concerned with how good they are going to look in their cowboy boots and short shorts. And it never fails that a girl behind me will say "What's a first down?" or "What does that mean?" In which case I look at my husband and smile to remind him how lucky he is to be married to a freak like me.
It is a mystery to me that everyone doesn't love sports like I do but I understand that this is what makes the world go 'round. Different people, different interests, and different sports preferences. But I mean c'mon how do you not love March? Or the NFL playoffs? Or SEC play in football or basketball? Or going to a baseball game in the summer? It brings a smile to my face like nothing else can.
Amen Sista!
ReplyDelete