March Madness

March Madness is in full throttle.  College basketball teams are frantically scrambling to advance to the final four.  Not only are the teams in a panic attack mode, but so are the alumni and fans. What is it about sporting events that draw thousands of people to gather in one spot to scream, wave flags, paint their faces and act like idiots?  It must be part of human DNA because sports mania presents itself early in our development.

We spent years following our sons from one Idaho town to the next watching them play baseball, basketball and soccer.  We screamed, jumped up and down, yelled and hollered out unheard instructions.  I did most of the jumping.  We became the sports idiots.  Some parents actually forget they were parents and became so carried away that they were asked to leave.  Fortunately, we had enough self restraint to not cross that line and embarrass our boys.

Years later we are again repeating these events.  A grandson has now advanced to playing school basketball and we again find ourselves yelling and jumping up and down.  I still do the jumping and Nolan yells some, but not as loud.  He was always more dignified than me.  The emotions related to watching sporting events which have been dormant for years have suddenly come alive.  Connor is now the creator of our sports tension--the center of our focus.   Once again we get to holler unheard instructions and become bleacher coaches.  We are part of that special group called sports fans.

It is funny how some things never change no matter how many years pass.  The referees are still stupid and make very poor calls, the coaches still need to rethink their line up and game plans.  I thought they would have figured those things out by now, but apparently not.  There is nothing that gets the adrenalin pumping like a sporting event.  It is nice to be the grandparent and watch with a little more distance.  Too much adrenaline at this point in life could be fatal.  Being a grandparents has several perks.  We get to watch Connor develop his skills, work hard to do his best, take pride in his accomplishments and be a team player.  But, best of all, when the team does not come off victorious, we don't have to take a disappointed, angry boy home and spend the rest of the night with him.  We've had our turn three times over.  He has parents that get that special experience