Baseball with pops

Tim is making a guest appearance today on the blog. There are some things you will always remember growing up. Some dads take their sons fishing, while other dads take their sons hunting. My dad was a “sports” dad.  

There are many dads like my dad…those who love a certain sport and encourage their sons to play and love that sport as well. All of my brothers were athletes in our family growing up. My two oldest brothers were known for their basketball skills. They each played multiple sports in high school, but they thrived in basketball.  I was almost 10 years behind them, so when it was my turn, naturally, I wanted to try the sports my brothers did.   However, even though I played on the Varsity basketball team, I didn’t start, and truth be told, I wasn’t really all that great.  

Growing up, my dad spent a lot of time with me on the baseball diamond. I played little league and won the MVP award, and then played in Jr. High and ended up being the captain of my high school baseball team. I loved baseball as a kid because my dad would take me to college baseball games at the University of Miami. We would drive to Mark Light Stadium and spend countless nights watching games together, eating peanuts, popcorn, and buying ridiculous baseball gear that probably got thrown away a long time ago. 

 One year for my dad’s birthday, I made him a coupon for a free Hurricane baseball game with me. Of course he had to pay for it anyway. My dad has kept that coupon in his wallet for over 20 years. 

 This past Saturday, I started the tradition with my son, George. We live in Tampa, so we can’t drive down to Miami. But since my wife is going to school at USF, we decided to go to a USF baseball game. 

 My Dad’s birthday is at the end of this month, so since we couldn’t be with him on his actual birthday, I took my father and my son to a college baseball game. We shared some memories, and made some new ones, and the Bulls won 9-3. Go Bulls!