For the Love of Sports

I’ll confess there are no teams that I regularly follow, professional or collegiate. The die-hard faithfulness of friends and family I know whose blood flows orange or crimson somewhat eludes me. But, put me in a sports venue for a live event with masses cheering, and I am suddenly a fan. Not that I’m a fair-weather fan, I’m just a “caught up in the excitement and the thrill of the game and the love of the camaraderie of supportive crowds eager for a show of rivaling skill and talent” kind of fan. 🙂

I’ve always loved sports movies. Since I was a little girl, something about the powerful story of lives transformed through the discipline of a firm but loving coach, the touching human element of life circumstances changing for the better through the work done on the field, the unity that comes through striving towards and fighting for a common goal, and the elation of victory or the humble acceptance of defeat—all of these aspects and more make for the best of movies to me. Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, and Goal! will forever be some of my absolute favorites.

I played basketball for a very small Christian school in high school. I was the oldest on the team and the games were of little importance in the eyes of anyone other than our parents. And yet, my coach taught me a love of the game; and I experienced first-hand how the personal joy of winning can feel as elating with a handful of friends and a few adoring family members in the stands as it would (I think at least?) with thousands of paying ticket holders. In the moment, the realistic significance of the win (or lack thereof), or the number of seats filled or empty, seem of little importance. It’s just a fantastic feeling to practice, to do your best, and to have it all pay off with a win. To this day, one of my favorite pastimes is to just go outside and shoot a few hoops or to play a good game of Gotcha with friends.

So for those of you who know that I can’t name specific players or coaches or stats (or often even the rules!), it may still surprise you that I absolutely love a good live sporting event (most especially when the weather is glorious). On a sunny day with every row packed at Nissan Stadium (no matter how annoying the Raiders fans may be! :)), it is delightfully fun to sing along with the National Anthem and then to scream for our men in blue. And long before they made the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a night at Bridgestone with the Preds left you smiling the whole time and wanting to come back for more. And on a balmy summer evening, I personally feel there is no better spot in Nashville than at the new Sounds Stadium, First Tennessee Park—get a beer or a hotdog or soft serve in a plastic baseball cap and root for the home team.

I’m curious to see what it will be like to have the new soccer team come to Music City—but that’s one of the things I like most about our hometown—we always make room for more—in our geography and in our hearts. 🙂