Winning isn't everything (But it sure can help minimize a Sports Widow's pain)
June 5, 2008 9:37 PM | 0 Comments
Yesterday was another one of those days where I am reminded of how much we sacrfice in the name of sports. I started out the morning discussing the Seattle Mariners' Manager's 45-second diatribe, complete with 17 expletives, about their poor performance, with my son while schlepping him to the dentist to resolve a chipped tooth, in which the offender was cooked broccoli (go figure). In the PM, I raced from my day job as a marketing professional, which is quickly being supplanted by my real job as sports manager, to attend a parent tennis team meeting at our local Arbor Heights Swim & Tennis Club (AHSTC). Unaccustomed to reaching this destination from Tukwila (don't ask where this is), I took a creative route (short hand for nearly got lost) to locate my destination, which is a seasonal community club open from May through September. Then, after getting the details of the Tennis Team, I raced to 10-year-old Austin's third play-off game.
All day, it relentlessly rained cats, dogs and other small animals, but naturally the weather decided to let up in time for the BEGINNING of Austin's game - a mere flirtation. The Boa Constrictor's games are held at a field on Alki Point, which is the location local weathermen use when they want to underscore the drama, the mercurial nature of our Puget Sound weather system. Even though it was June 5, I repeat June 5, the weather was more like a cold, damp winter day in which frozen rain periodically spat at my face. I wrapped up in a fashionable winter coat, layered with a tacky rain coat, layered with a winter scarf tied under my chin that made me look like a newcomer checking in at Ellis Island for the first time: My name was Nanotchka Hallscienski, but they abbreviated it to Nan Hall because it was easier. OK, THAT was random. I heroically lent my Mexican blanket to my sister-in-law Ann, who was huddling for warmth with my 13-year-old daughter. Anyway, end of story: After much tooth-chattering, yelling, freezing the Boa Constrictors LOST, got womped by the Smelly Sweat Socks, I think by 8 points. This is their first loss all season, but redemption could be around the corner. They play on Saturday, and if they win, will have to play the Smelly Sweat Socks twice to get the title.
After all of this, I remembered this lovely event, which appeared on national TV, in which a softball team carries an opposing player across the plate and loses the game ON PURPOSE.
So, it's not all about winning is it? Yet, I have to admit (particularly since I still have no feeling in my toes) that it does take away the sting.
Tell me about your life as a sports manager, preferably without the [expletives].
The Sports Widow
(aka Nan Hall)
Tell me what you think of Winning isn't everything (But it sure can help minimize a Sports Widow's pain)...
From the Tennis Archives
The Sports Widow's "Glory Days" as a High School Tennis Player
September 11, 2006 6:11 AM | 0 Comments
We just visited my hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Specifically, I grew up in Shorewood, which is the first suburb as you travel up the North Shore of Milwaukee. I have no trophies. I have no letter jackets. I have no claims to fame athletically, but for the sake of my children, I cling to one small triumph: I played on the Shorewood High School Girls' Tennis Team. Yes, I played.
How I Became a Sports Widow
March 2, 2006 7:11 AM | 0 Comments
The only math formula I ever memorized was: Tragedy+Time=Comedy. When I apply this to my relationship with sports, believe me, comedy is the operative word.
