Sports and Relationships

[Thriller Ant]

Sports, on the surface, are little more than simple forms of entertainment. From professional all the way down to thrown together backyard games, that is what sports are at their most basic level.

The funny thing about life, however, is that nothing is ever that simple. We become so emotionally invested in "our" teams. We are ecstatic when they win the big game, we cry when they fail. But where sports often have the biggest impact is on our relationships with people. Whether it is giving a friend who likes the rival team crap when their team loses or using sports to come closer to someone.

The latter is what my stories will reflect. First, sports strongly effect my relationship with my grandma, my mom's mom. She is the most amazing person I have ever met in my life. She is selfless, generous, and just an incredibly caring woman. She is where my love of sports comes from. She babysat me when I was little and both my parents worked full-time jobs, and in that time installed in me a love of the St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Cardinals. My immediate family never was big into sports, so without her, I don't know if I would be a sports fan right now, or, more importantly, have the amazing relationship with her that I will treasure forever.

My other story may stretch your (and my) definition of "sports" but I will share anyway. When I was a freshman in high school, my grandpa (dad's dad) passed away, three years ago this February. My dad's family has never been overly close, rarely having any kinds of family get togethers, unlike my mom's family. This made it so my siblings and I didn't have very much time with my grandpa. The time we did spend with him, however, he showed us a love and passion for the outdoors that I have never seen from anyone else. In the summer, we would spend hours fishing. I was never good, but the time spent together was something I always cherished and enjoyed. In the fall, he would take us hiking around the woods on the bluff he lived on, searching for wild mushrooms that were safe to eat. Once again, I wasn't good, but we could always tell my grandpa enjoyed the time with us and us with him. We visited him in the hospital for the last time. He looked extremely sick (he had cancer) and everyone knew he didn't have much time left. The last thing he said to me, as he looked me straight in the eyes and gave a weak smile was, "When I get outta here, we'll go fishing again." I still think of my grandpa anytime I see anyone fishing. I haven't really done it since, as I'm not very good and I prefer to leave my memories of fishing with my grandpa.

So the question I ask, how have sports expanded beyond a form of entertainment, and had a real, lasting impact on your life?

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

My entire relationship with my dad has been built upon the foundation of sports. My parents divorced when I was about five, so I would spend the summers growing up with my dad, and wherever he happened to be living.

My first baseball game as I recall was the Pirates at the Phillies, I was rooting for the Pirates based off the name alone, though the Phillies won that game. This would be my only game on the east coast, as my dad would move to San Diego. This is when we started going to padre games on a regular basis, as well as a couple charger games during the football season too.

The San Diego Padres and Chargers are truly the two things that have held our relationship together, and without that we probably wouldn't see each other much at all. So, all in all I'm happy that my dad took me to those games as a kid, as I'm a die hard Padre and Charger fan, and I'm glad to have something in common that I can talk to my dad about.

 

[Theo Mays]

Sharing my love of sports was something I looked forward to with my father. If I found out something also I couldn't wait for my dad to get home and share the news. Despite cheering for other teams it was always him and I enjoying Sundays full of football or just a day game of baseball, it was always fun. I always dreamed that one day my dad and I would kick back on a Sunday, crack open a beer, and watch football. However that would never be the case because my father passed away from cancer my 9th grade year of HS. Till this day I follow sports like crazy and I do that because that is just what I'm programed to do, because that is what I did while my dad was still kicking.

Most of my friendships are based on sports and I enjoy busting on them whenever I can and I take the bustings whenever they are deserved. It is fun between pals and there is never any love lost due to the fact of different teams.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Well Thriller, I'm glad you asked. My love affair with the sporting world began when I was a wee little tike, you see my mother's side of the family all played baseball. In our small town baseball and basketball where king, football wasn't even an option til I got to HS so there was no desire to play it. My two uncles both held the high school record for strike outs in a season, my older uncle broke it when he was in school and then a few years later his younger brothe broke it. I myself played for the same high school team, shame I wasn't a pitcher it seemed to run in the family. I was signed up for tee ball when I was too young to play and never stopped playing until I had graduated. When I was in middle school I got my first job umpiring little league games, which was awesome because of how much I loved the game and we actually lived right next to the ballpark so I could even watch games from our back porch if I wanted to, which I did often. Now in the years since I stopped playing baseball and having my family at all the games my summers have become boring and lackluster. All this may seem a bit off topic, but it was a love of mine and my family's and ever since I've stopped playing I've stopped enjoying my summers as much and have slowly slipped into the wonderful thing we call being a grown up. It's not very fun for all that don't know. So for me sports represent a happier, more simple time in my life. Everything was great when I was playing ball every day and umpiring to make money, and after the games on Mondays I would race home to watch Austin and Rock on Raw. Good times.

Sorry if this wasn't exactly what you're looking for my fellow Cardinals and Blues supporter, but when I think of sports and how they affected my relationships and me, this is what I remember the most vividly.

 

[Tenta]

Sports, to me, forged a first relationship with my father, really. I'll never forget the hours we'd spend watching Atlanta Braves games. Humorous really, because the more I realized it, my father didn't even really like the Braves, and he actually grew up a fan to the Mets. He actually watched Braves games because he knew I'd enjoy them, and I would like the team. Frankly, sports and wrestling have always been the extension of the search for the relationship with my father I still need. In a way, the watching of sports keep his memory alive, really. Not that I don't have anything else to do that, and not as though I need sports tp keep his memory. But the direct link is still there in my mind, and always will be. I'll always tend to sports, because it is an extension of my relationship with my father. I feel as though, to some extent, this is the ideal of sports and relationships. When the identity of relationship, and perhaps even sense of yourself, is somewhat locked to sports, it becomes an innate sense to follow that team. My father followed sports, i follow sports because of that man, and realistically, I'll try to pass on sports to my children, should I be blesses enough to have them, because it forges a bond. It creates a common ground in which everyone can relate to. My friends can't relate to some of my situations, and I can't do the same to them. That said, I do know that I can forge a relationship through the eye of sports.

Wonderful, if not poignant thread, Thriller.

 

[The Doctor]

I've never been much for sports. that said, I do have some stories about building relationships through school sports.

In my 11th grade year, I finally decided to bite the bullet and actually go for an actual sport. I had planned on doing this sport the year before, but I chickened out at the last minute. That year I decided nothing would hold me back from competing in that sport.

What was the sport, you ask? Wrestling.

I'm not ashamed to admit that the only reason I was interested in it in the first place was because of WWE. I knew that the wrestling would be totally different, but I still wanted to try out. Plus I had gained a little bit of weight and wanted a program to keep it off me and get me into shape.

I came in barely knowing some guys, and not knowing others. I came out with ten new friends. In fact, they were more than friends. They were a team. We trained together, ate together, won and lost together. But no matter what happened, we stuck together and never gave up, never let our morale go down.

That last part is pretty crucial. You see, I was possibly the worst wrestler in the world. Well, that's not true. I was pretty good at not getting pinned. I just sucked at doing the pinning, or even scoring any points. I had a perfect record through the whole season: Straight losses. But I never lost my smile, and neither did the team. I think I was a kind of moral support. And they were support to me. I could have easily given up, and just quit the team, but my friends, my teammates...they kept me at it, congratulating me every time I lost on a job well done, and always cheering me on.

There was one boy in particular that my being on the team helped form a relationship with. His name was Nelson. He was in my homeroom, which was a homeroom for people with learning disabilities, and I never really liked him. He just seemed like a run-of-the-mill thug. Being on the team with him changed my mind completely. I saw deeper into him, and saw him as a gentle soul surrounded by a boisterous exterior. I think it helped me learn not to judge a book by its cover.

That year was my last year in Italy before I moved here, and the time on the wrestling team let me leave on a sweet note, full of memories. Through my time on the team I learned the unity and passion people have for sports, and it really opened my mind. I just wish I hadn't moved away, just so I could have been on that team my senior year and spend more time with these people who I had gotten to know so well.

 

[CH David]

My relationship with sports started when I was a wee lad. Couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 when I picked up my first baseball (okay it was plastic and stuffed with fuzz, lay off!) and played catch with my dad. We watched a lot of baseball and basketball as I grew up, with the White Sox and Bulls being those teams. My dad was never really huge into football and only enjoyed hockey for fights.

Then my parents got divorced and baseball kind of sidetracked for me. I'd play in little league, but it just wasn't the same because I didn't see my dad everyday like I used to. I was kind of a shut in during the winter months, didn't really hang out with too many people from school during junior high.

Then 8th Grade started and I was finally more comfortable with everything. It was a great year and I was getting back into baseball. The White Sox were back on my tv more often, I went to a few ballgames that summer. Then fall hit, and my brother and I started watching the Bears. We laughed at how they sucked, but the next year they did very well. The Blackhawks were in the lockout, and the Bulls were getting a little better each year.

Then in 2005 it all started coming together. I was watching the Illini go the the Title Game of the NCAA Tournament, the White Sox kicked ass that summer, the Bears played well, and the Blackhawks (while still sucking) were back.

Now I don't really have too many people I can sit down and watch a baseball or basketball (when I watch) game. Some of my friends want to go to games, but we don't necessarily chill and watch on tv. But my close friends would go, which is great. My mom and I can sit and watch the Blackhawks and both show the same emotion, and my brother and I are able to watch Bears games and still get fired up or pissed off.

I don't have the same relationship with my dad that I used to, but the divorce has brought more relationships to me. My brother and I were tighter than ever in 2005 and 2006 with the White Sox and Bears playing awesome, and my mom and I can't wait for hockey. I enjoy watching baseball withf friends when I can, and it tightens our bond even more.

 

[Mr. Steve]

It's both cultural and personal for me.

In Puerto Rico, we're literally a hot bed for sports. Boxing, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, we probably have it. This actually ties in with how I got started on sports.

Since I could remember, Dad's a fan of the Mets. He got the love of New York from his dad, his uncles root for the Yankees, one of his brothers a yanks fan, and his youngest brother is a fan of basketball lmao. That said, the first games I remember seeing with him were Mets games. Particularly, the subway series. Then, I stopped seeing it regularly until 2005...and followed the Sox that year and watched as they won it.

Basketball...it was the Bulls dynasty. My uncle was a huge supporter of the Bulls. He would go over to my house, and Dad, him and I would watch the games. We watched those seasons religiously.

Boxing...it was both of them. In here, Boxing's a religion, same as baseball. Specifically, it was Trinidad/De La Hoya. It's not only my testimony, but most people here will likely say the same. We tend to follow sports like a religion around here.

 

[Da Prophet]

Sports can keep a help build relationships from when your young and when your older.You make friends in you local football or basketball team, in a team sport it builds confidence and social skills.Sport is also a huge part of health, it keeps people of all ages fit and also provides fun.I once knew someone who hated doing an type of physical activity but loved playing or watching soccer.They loved it and would rush home to watch a game tha was recorded or something like that.When your older it allows you to bond with family and friends, you can invite people over to watch a game.So sport plays a major role in peoples lives from an early age, and helps us all learn social skills and how to talk to people.

 

[The Holy One]

From my personal experiences, sports help strengthen the relationship b/w me and both my father and mother. My parents were never married when they had my brother and me. So sports was one of the main points in our conversations; it help my brother and me have an equal connection to both our parents rather than most illegitimate/divorced children who just have one strong relationship with either their mom or dad.

My dad helped me become the overbearing Altanta sports fan that I am today; he's also the reason I started watching wrestling with his love for Goldberg and SCSA. Even now, most of our conversations consist of if the Braves will win the Series, how good the Falcons will be, or why the Hawks gave Joe Johnson the max contract.

As far as my mom is concern, her polorizing love for the Cowboys, Florida State Seminoles, and Tiger Woods helped us develop more of a conversation rather than the usual "how was school" and "what's for dinner." If it wasn't for us arguing over sports, I don't know if I would have even said more than three sentences a day to my mom while living with her for 17 years.

The same can be said for my brother too with his love for the Miami Hurricanes, Los Angelos Lakers especially Kobe Bryant, and Carolina Panthers. Sports definitely was the main reason we have any kind of ground for talking b/c I live in the same house with him for 16 years and I would barely even see him other than watching a game and arguing for three hours after said game.

So, I think sports can help a lot in building a personal relationship with any of your family members. Whether you're agreeing with them over how well your team is doing or arguing with them over who's going to beat who. It's always helpful to have some type of conversations with your relatives as long as you're at least talking to them, and for me sports was probably the most influential factor in that.

 

[a0161613]

My grandpa and my uncle both shaped me for life when they started to take me to football matches. I was a ten year old kid, surrounded by men on the best stand in English football. I was propped on this barrier five foot above the ground amongst a sea of people.

I have only been three or four times since my uncle passed but I lost them both within 18 months and that's 14 years ago nearly. I'm a huge Liverpool fan because of those trips. I barely remember the details of the trip but the club, the whole thing left an impression on me.

I miss them terribly but I follow the club through thick and thin, all thanks to them. I remember when I was told of my uncle's death, I know I was devastated but I remember sobbing, asking my mum who would take me to football matches now. As a 12 year old kid, it wasnt important and even now it seems selfish, but the relationship and looking forward to those trips meant the world to me.

 

[Mr. Truth]

I don't have any stories about how sports relates to someone important in my life. I don't have stories about how sports set me straight. I don't have really any stories at all. For me, however, I breath televised sports. I don't tell what season it is by how hot it is outside, but how what sports are currently in. Late winter sucks not because of snow and cold, but because basketball and hockey are all that are on. Football ended and spring training is still weeks away. Sports drive emotions whether it be the highs of watching the Yankees hit a walk off home run, or the lows of watching the Jets come off one half short of making it to the Super Bowl. Sorry for the kind of stream of consciousness, poorly put together post, but I can't quite put proper words to how sports relates to me.

 

[Razor]

This is easy. I'm from the University of Arkansas. It's like asking me how I know 2 + 2 = 4. Please.

Walking down the sidewalk in the middle of the semester at the UofA may not betray just how united we are as a school. Sure, we're not fighting each other on the sidewalk or casting out vague insults to everyone passing by (we're not all drunken frat guys), but we're not especially friendly to random students.

Go and stand in the Student's Section at a Razorback's game. Everyone is friends with everyone. We are all fighting for the same goal. We all cheer, we all cry, we all take part in the Alma Mater. We all jeer at the refs, and curse at the away team.

There is no other way to describe it but a massive mob mentality. A mob mentality that builds friendship and a sense of brotherhood with every other student there. You are a sad, smelly loner if you can go to a football game alone and not leave with a friend or at least a new acquaintance.

Combine that with the student section being the place where I solidified my friendships with my new group of friends during Freshman Year, and I would be in complete agreement with you Thizzalingdong. I complete have sports to thank for a lot of relationships that I now hold dear.

..Well that and not being an utter douchebag. But the sports helped.