Disclaimer: This isn't a spiritual post.
I like to think I am sort of athletic. I mean I played softball for eight years, decided to switch to volleyball randomly, and then found myself winning a state championship in that. I dipped into basketball for the heck of it, but that wasn't my thing. Oh and I played soccer... okay, I played in a game one time because the school was desperate for players. Weekends covered in dirt or weekends covered in floor burn, whatever it was I didn't care, I just loved sports. If it wasn't for a shoulder injury I would be playing college volleyball somewhere, but that isn't what God wanted for my life. That is a story for another time.
My brother's like to joke and tell me that I am a "scrub" or whatever language you guys come up with, and they talk so much smack to all the time. At times it get frustrating, but over the years I have learned to dish it back. My go to is always "I was voted most athletic in high school."
My family is extremely athletic. Not to sound conceited or anything, but we are. My Dad was an incredible athlete. My oldest brother won world series after world series in baseball. By world series I mean like the real deal world series, like Puerto Rico and Iowa. My sister played traveling softball for years, both of them coached by my Dad.
That is something I envied for a long time. Because let me just say, I love my Mom but the woman had no idea what was happening most of the time I was playing. In short, sports are just what you do with your Dad. There were lots of days spent looking at my friends with their dad's before games, or after, and that, well, that sucked.
I promise I am getting to the point.
My Dad loved Duke basketball. When he was alive I always knew that, but I never really got into it. He was an avid fan of Coach K. I could go on for days. Are you catching my drift? The man loved Duke.
My oldest brother started getting into it more and more after my dad died. His dream was to go to school there. He applied, got deferred and then ended up not getting in. If you know my brother, you know that the kid is a legitimate genius, and I am not just saying that. That was totally off topic, but just know Duke is a really hard school to get into.
Then my little brother started getting into it. I slowly started watching the games, just because I wanted to hang out with my brothers. It has just been in the past couple years that I have really kept up. By keeping up I mean I spend spare time looking up stats and next year recruitments when I should be paying attention in school. My guy friends always joke with me that they have never met a girl who knows so much about college basketball. (Insert emoji of girl with her hand propping up her hair here)
I was on a walk with my mom the other day and she asked my why I liked Duke basketball so much. I had never really even thought about it. But, then it all made sense.
Saturday nights in the living room with my brothers talking back and forth about sports, screaming at the TV, yeah that happens, text messages with them about the latest Duke news, that is a dream for me. Those are the moments that replace such heartache of the absence of my dad at all my games growing up. No they aren't father daughter moments, but they are special moments. It isn't the same, but it is as close as I will ever get.
Then there is this. When someone dies, you are left with memories, and even those sometimes start to fade. But Duke basketball, that is a part of my Dad that can't ever die. He was known for it, cause let's get real there aren't a lot of Duke fans in Georgia. It's a little part of him that my brothers and I get to hang on to.
Basketball season is my favorite time of the year. Watching games with my brother's, those are my memories that take the place of the ones I didn't get chance to have with my Dad. Duke basketball, that is something I will pass on to my kids... a little part of my dad to live on.
A Duke fan?
Yeah, there is no denying that. But underneath it all is just a girl who loves sports, and wants to have a little piece of her dad every now and then.
So with that... Go Duke.
