TFFG 17: How to be a team player.

“You’re tall. Do you play basketball?” This is pretty much the first thing my 6th grade guidance counselor asked me when I showed up to register for school. He was also the basketball coach, btw. And yes, I was tall. One of the tallest girls for my age. And no, I did not play basketball. I didn’t play any sports. But that didn’t seem to matter, because...I was tall. 

So I show up for practice along with my super-sporty friends from elementary school. Naturally gifted athletes with confidence in spades on any playing field. Where they thrived, I floundered. I was awkward and nervous and so afraid of letting everybody down. Not to mention all that shouting to pass, get the ball, shoot, shoot, shoot – I was out of my element. 

Finally, I broke it to my dad in my freshman year of high school that I wasn’t going to play (aka sit on the bench) anymore – I was going to be a pom-pom girl. That’s a story for another time, but the short version is that I quit after one season.

I enjoy watching sports about as much as I enjoyed playing them – it moves too slow or too fast, takes up too much time and I always feel bad for the team that loses. Ironically, give me a good sports story and I’m all in – Hard Knocks, All or Nothing, ESPN Real Sports, Undefeated – the list goes on and includes the NFL draft because I love all the backstory on the players. But the games themselves? Nah. Not my thing. 

So when all this Herculean effort and money and strategic planning was going into getting professional sports seasons off the ground, I just didn’t get it. It made no sense to me because, well, it doesn’t mean anything to me. But then my husband said something that helped me understand the WHY. He said: “This is going to be a huge mental boost for people, to have games to watch and sports to talk about. People need this for their mental health right now.” And that’s when I realized it wasn’t just “people” who needed it. It was my husband, too. 

I’m not saying I’m going to watch all 60 games of baseball or anything close to that – but I’ll hang in there for a few innings. I’ll eat hot dogs on the sofa as a family. I’ll contribute a few Whats, Whoas and Wows to the worst calls and best plays. Because that’s what being a team player is all about, right?