For the Love of Sports

Last night, I stole a base for the Boston Red Sox during the American League Championship, while I slept.  Had you told me I would soon be dreaming of baseball 5 years ago, I would have fallen on the floor laughing at the absurdity of that prophesy.  Me, dream of baseball? I didn't know the first thing about baseball, had never even seen a  high school game, let alone a Major League game; not even on television.
Before my life collided with Nathan's, I could care less about sports. Honestly, I really could care less.  I grew up in a soccer home, we all played at one point or another, with varying degrees of success.  My father was apparently pretty good at it, so it was in our genetic make up to love the game.  I'll give you an example of how little we cared about American football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and golf: our family paid for cable once every four years in June, to watch the FIFA World Cup.  Once the World Cup concluded, off went the TV and it was on with summer activities.  For me, this all changed once I became engaged to Nathan.

 My first (and only) baseball game - The Seattle Mariners.

Nathan's family is heavily into sports.  The boys played baseball, soccer, and golf in their youth; Nathan still plays soccer and golf whenever he can.  The man is dang good too. :)  I learned quite early in our relationship that watching sports was an important thing.  Now, just because I'd never cared about sports didn't mean that I was against them.  They just weren't on my radar of interesting things to watch.  But I could tell pretty soon that these things mattered to Nathan.  It didn't take long for them to matter to me too.  No, I never thought you tackled people in golf).  Lastly came the method of team rankings and playoffs. (7 games??? Is that completely neccessary?)  I'm almost to the point where I know what sport season it is! I feel quite impressed with myself.  Golf is by far the easiest to understand and the most enjoyable to watch.  I still can't stand football and basketball, and I have yet to watch a full game of hockey.  This hard slog into American culture has been quite enjoyable.  My husband is good-natured and answers all my questions with kindness and only a hint of sarcasm.  Watching sports has also created a bonding point between my father-in-law and myself.  I think he actually enjoys 'talking sports' with me.

And so my sports education began.  I would sit down with the guys and study this phenomenon.  I asked every question known to man, it is good I was surrounded by people who love me, else I might have been banished from the room with my incessant chatter.  My first lesson was who to cheer for.  This of course needed to correspond with the Gerhardt men, else I would call down undo wrath upon myself.  Next I had to master the rules and scoring methods, often confusing which rule applied to which sport, (No, I never thought you tackled people in golf).
And so we come full circle to my dream.  I have gotten rather passionate about the American League Championship this year. (That's baseball. A year ago, I would not have known this.)  Being a loyal hometown girl, I must of course root for the Boston Red Sox, purely because of Jacoby Ellsbury.  I went to school with his youngest brother, I've never actually met Jacoby but I'm sure he is just as nice as his brother. Regardless, he's a hometown hero so we've got to cheer him on and hope his team wins the World Series thing.  Because the games are on in the evening, it is often the last thing I see before sleep, and so, for the first time in my life; my dreams are full of baseball.

Safeco Field

Oh and P.S.

A young Nathan.

Golf is by far our most watched sport, as Nathan is a pretty gifted golfer and has loved to watch the pros since he was small.  We cheer for Tiger Woods because he is the best, although his morals are lacking; and we cheer for Phil Mickelson because he is also great and a very likable man.  A good man.  I'm also very into the Tour De France.  Some of our favorites include Bradly Wiggins, Cadel Evans, and Mark Cavendish.