Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Livin' La Vida Hoops

Ever since I can remember, sports has been a major factor in my life. From the first baseball glove I got for $5.77 at the Western Auto store to taking pictures of college kids flying around on go-carts as I did this afternoon, the fantasy of my youth is lived out every day. Of course, the 30 minutes I spent in the sun in Daytona Beach came at the expense of five hours of working inside with student-athletes on homework assignments, essays and downloaded class lectures...longing to be out in the sun/surf/sand. Everything has a price, and mine is to be relegated indoors today when it is 70 outside.
Disappointments? yes, I've had many of them with regard to my love of sports, both personal and professional, but every day continues to pose the kind of competitive challenges I relish. I still hate to lose at anything, and I hate it when my team du jour loses as well...as evidenced by the flying remote a few years ago following a Paul O'Neill double play grounder in the World Series.
I am far less Type A competitive than I used to be, but the adrenalin still gets pumping even when I work with a student getting ready for an important exam. As much exasperation as I have caused my family over an inability to take losses in stride, I was reminded again today that I would not have changed anything: not the "agony of defeat" or the frustration I feel when expectations exceed results.
In many ways, it is but one of the special moments I always treasure. Like walks with my sweetie or finishing yet another great book from a favorite author; like the temporary enervation resulting from those moments of unreserved success: these moments remind me how fortunate I am to be doing what I do with the people I care most about. (wow! this is a rare moment of introspective reflection for me!)
Which brings me to Daytona Beach this week. Three games in three days here in Florida will be exciting...depending on the outcome! I still cannot get over the outcome-based way that sports tends to look at things even though I am not directly involved.
Of course, life is a very outcome-based affair, too...we'll all be dead. (no doubt about it, I've got to stop reading those textbooks about the impending environmental disasters)

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home