Are you ready for some football?… I am! I can hardly wait!

It’s like (no, it actually is…) the best part for me of the upcoming season. It might be cold outside, but football is on. For me, football especially is a great time to hang out with Hubby. We laugh and talk and just catch up on life in general. One fun thing we do that makes our time even more special together is playing guessing games…

We print out two sets of the entire season and we both sit there with our pens (You have to use a pin. We found that out the hard way… watch that eraser!) and we guess the winning teams (with our hands over the paper while we write… HeeHee!). We have a blast with it! And, sometimes we do it for an end-of-season gift and other times we do it for the competitive rush… The important thing (even if you’re not the biggest fan of the team or the game overall) is that we do it!

Do you and your significant other have “a thing” that you do for a sporting event?… If not, feel free to borrow ours!

Manny Ramirez, a recently traded leftfielder from the Boston Red Sox to the L.A. Dodgers, has been receiving a lot of coverage-and it hasn’t all been too good.

Ramirez, a future Hall of Famer, appears to be (let’s say) an attention grabber. He has, especially in recent weeks, made some fans, teammates, and management a bit frustrated by his on-the-field antics (Yes, using a cell phone is on this antics list! And yes, jogging [instead of running] to first base.). But, along with his clowning around, Ramirez has proven to be one of the best at his position (And, he knows it!).

I’m a little in between on this because the man is a beast on the field and that’s undeniable… But, how far is too far (as far as performing in order to get reactions)? He hasn’t hurt anyone (Uh, well, except that fight in the dugout, which involved another teammate and staff member.)… So, do you get a pass just because you’re gifted and talented? I mean, I guess sometimes that is how things seem to go (Obviously!), but should this be the case? Is it such a big deal? For me, (along with, of course, balance) I’m all about embracing one’s personality and like Hubby so eloquently said the other day, he wouldn’t want to kill someone’s spirit.

So, big deal or not such a big deal at all?

So, I asked (referencing the Brett Favre recent news) what was your “Stay or Not To Stay” dilemma? I wanted to share my own as a testament that life really does go on (It really does!)!

Picture it… hair falling to the floor while being whirled around in the (then) torturous chair. As the snips continued, my neck experienced it’s first exposure to the really cold… it wasn’t prepared for the chill bumps that would be it’s new, constant (well, at least during the winter months) existence.

Yes, in an attempt to introduce myself to a new trend and defy my parents’ wishes (a two for one deal, huh??), I had my hair cut. Note to self, being used to long hair and then cutting it during the winter months may not be a good idea… oh, and uh, don’t defy your parents!

Okay, let’s go back in the day (some further back than others… go ahead and laugh)-more specifically, high school. I’d like to know if you played sports (I think cheerleading counts [smile]!). So, what sport did you play and at that time did you think you would still be participating in that sport in adulthood? I mean, you know that guy down the street who always knew he was going to the NFL, right?

Alright, you pulled it out of me… I’ll share! I ran track… the 100 and 4×4 (a little cross country for a while-that was a bit much!), and I was a cheerleader (hence the inclusion above)… B-E-A-GG-R-E-SS-IVE! And yeah (no), I didn’t think I’d be doing any of that today.

Your turn…

Yeah, it was pretty hard to think of a situation where all of those pitching qualities (especially the solid throwing fundamentals stories were concerned…) came into play. What I did remember was the actual development of this blog.

I knew I wanted to talk about sports and give it a positive approach, but all that leads up to being able to actually blog is a different story…

I had to keep in the forefront of my mind what my goal, indeed, was. I had to remember why I was staying up really late when I knew I had to get up really early for my other job. There are very small details that end up meaning a great deal when you want to deliver a wonderful package to your readers… I think that was the biggest thing… I wanted to give something that was visually relevant and worth reading.

I’m happy with the current stage of my sports blog (I realize that it’s still developing and I actually like that.). I want to be the source of assistance to understanding sports and an encouragement to making that relationship even better because of your new-found knowledge… Now, come on… you have to be accurate, dedicated, intelligent, and strong to make this happen (Smile!), right? And, well, if I have to throw something to make this happen then so be it (Smile… again.)!… You really should read the previous post so you can put my throwing stuff into context… Hilarious!

Tigers are considered to be the undisputed ruler of its domain (This is so going to be relevant later!). When hunger arises, they are extraordinary killers and their prey are left helpless to their undeniable prowess (Wait for it… Wait for it.). And, no matter the situation, they can almost always be found victorious.

These same characteristics are appropriately aligned with PGA’s very own Tiger Woods (See the name symbolism?… Work it. Own it. Love it.). Victor of the 2008 U.S. Open Championship at Torrey Pines, Woods defeated his opponent in a sudden death playoff after being tied at the end of the game.

Photo by Jim Epler. (CC)

Here’s the kicker!… he was hurt. Yep!

Woods had recently had surgery on his left knee, leaving him in an amazing amount of pain. Admitting that he pushed himself quite a bit, Woods (grimacing and limping all the way) found courage and pressed by his pain to achieve greatness, yet again… Definitely his most remarkable.

Where’s your symbolic Tiger? We all have one (I’ve had to pull it out a few times [smile])… and you know what? It’s okay! A little inner strength never hurts.

I’m sure you know someone (Who knows, maybe it’s you!) who just isn’t quite being themselves. You can’t put your finger on it (or maybe you can), but you wonder what it would take to help this person realize his or her true potential.

This thought came to me as we (me, Hubby, and Mom… love you Mom!!) watched the Belmont Stakes horse race on Saturday… more specifically, after the astonishing loss of Triple Crown hopeful Big Brown. Everyone had an opinion about why the stallion, seemingly, just wasn’t himself. His racing style was unusual. The way he responded to the jockey was unusual. And, his last place finishing was absolutely unusual.

Photo by Jim Wood. (CC)

In all this, I felt a sort of burden for the horse as he was expected to live up to this huge name and grandeur that was placed all around him. He, of course, was none the wiser and just probably figured it was another day out on the dirt, but others were stunned because of this overall expectation.

Very simply put, it is important to be who you are no matter what. It can be a daunting task at times especially in work or school (even relationship) dynamics, but how much satisfaction would you get in realizing at the end of the day that you were being true to who you are?

There is so much unending pressure to be so many things, but the truth of the matter is that it takes so much work to be something or someone that you’re not. Try to be the very best that you can be and although there will be continued expectation around you (that’s just the nature of things), the hype isn’t worth losing out on being the very special you.

Have there been times when you felt that being you just wasn’t good enough?… If so, let me know when and what happened next.

Imagine you’re a professional athlete (Yes, you!) and you have everything you could ever imagine at your disposal… money, notoriety, cars (often phrased as endeared toys), and anything else your little heart desires. Now, with all of this fame and success you stumble across a rough patch in your life that you aren’t exactly expecting neither is it in your control (You know it happens all the time.).

In fact, it happens to the best of us. An uncontrollable situation is, indeed, the great equalizer between us all (the professional athlete and the everyday Joe… or wherever you fall in between).

Considering this (as yourself or as A.K.A. a professional athlete), how would you go about handling that uncontrollable situation? And, if you have experienced that seemingly out of control situation, how did you come through it?

It’s sharing time…

Can it be that you may not know your significant other’s favorite thing (Hmmm… think hard)? If so, what it is? Is it that cute, pink button up that just makes your mouth water (Pause. Think.)? Or is it that book about how to be a better you (Now, now… I agree that these can be handy items to have around)? I guess what I’m curious about are the small things.

I know sometimes, for me, well, it’s the small things that mean so much. I’m referring to times, for instance, when Hubby (I will give him a name one day.) makes me tea without my having to ask because he knows tea soothes me. Or when he takes the clothes out of the washer and puts them in the dryer because he knows I’m swamped with other stuff.

For Hubby’s birthday I tried to get floor tickets to a Lakers’ game. Well, that plan was meeting a dead end, so I decided to plan for a nice dinner with friends (He loves our friends.). At the last minute tickets came through and I presented him with his choices… dinner at a very nice restaurant with close friends or tickets to a game where we wouldn’t have the possibility of a GI-normous athlete falling on us. Well, after the game (LOL!) we decided what we wanted to do for the rest of his birthday weekend.

Point is we often times give based on our likes and wants (Don’t get me wrong. I’d be the first at a Lakers’ game… with pom poms!). But, I thought since we couldn’t get the floor seating that the night wouldn’t be eventful enough—and guess what?—it was an outstanding evening.

Hmmm, could you think of that favorite thing that your sports’ fan would be ecstatic over?… or at least thankful that it’s not having to wear that pink button up again (Hilarious!).

Do tell…

Very easy today… it’s important that with understanding your enthusiastic sports fan side of things that the same happens for you. With this in mind, one simple question today…

What would be that important thing that you’d love your sports lover to say or do that would help to make it more conducive for you to want to watch or participate in sports with them? And, why?

We all have something. What’s yours? I can’t wait to hear your important thing!