A contradiction of sorts.
Yesterday afternoon, my friend Kelly and I baked some sugar cookies from scratch and then watched the Panthers game. That reminded her of a conversation she’d had with a friend of hers about contradictions. Her friend, Anna, eats sausage biscuits with her pinkies sticking out, but she also loves The Simpsons. Kelly decided that her contradiction was that she loves baking, but she also likes playing video games and smack talk (just ask Brian).
We decided fairly easily that my contradiction is that I’m a fairly girly girl, or high maintenance or whatever - I do my hair every day, and I always wear a little makeup - and yet I love sports. Not playing them, but during parties where the girls are hanging out with the babies and the guys are watching the game, I’d much rather be with the guys.
On the way home last night, Mike said, “Well, it makes sense that you would like sports so much, since you grew up with a brother, and you would have had to play things on his terms.” The problem with that theory is that, while Joseph and I did play sporty things together, he also played with me when I wanted to play Barbies (sometimes). And, of the two of us, although he is definitely more athletic, I am the sports-watcher. When I talked to him last week, I asked if he was watching any of the World Series, and he kind of snorted. I think the real reason I like sports is because my mom likes sports. She was a tomboy growing up, and I wish I was as athletic as she is. There’s even a story about the time she made the game-winning free throws for her high school basketball team. She and I would be the ones watching every Carolina basketball game, while my dad often fell asleep on the couch. (Sometimes we’d wake him up with our yelling.) I only remember staying up to watch a game with my dad one time - the 1992 NLCS with the Braves vs. the Pirates. And I didn’t get into football until I married Mike, because my dad doesn’t watch it very much. So, in my house, sports were more of a female thing, oddly enough.
Last week I ran across this book called The Meaning of Sports. It’s about why Americans watch sports and what sports mean to people in this country. It’s been slow going, but I have enjoyed it so far. Since my brother and I grew up in the same house and are so different when it comes to sports, it’s been interesting to run some of the different things in the book past him to see what his opinion is.
Since Mike and I are both into sports, it will be interesting to see if we raise sports-crazed children, or if they will be more like my brother - interested in more creative pursuits.
November 1st, 2004 at
kelly: “I can’t throw my grenades!”
brian in a sarcastic tone: “are you having difficulties with your left trigger finger?”
kelly: “i’m about to have difficulties with my middle finger”
kelly 10, brian 0.
and i would love for our kids to be fanatics about sports or possibly athletes or better yet athletes that write poetry.
November 1st, 2004 at
“[H]e also played with me when I wanted to play Barbies (sometimes).”
If you were my sister, you’d be dead right about now.
November 1st, 2004 at
Kelly does indeed have my respect. Even if she lost.
My brother and Dad were all into football and basketball…I should be interested since it was such a big part of my home life and since most of the guys in my neighborhood liked sports…but was never into it. I just can’t watch sports…it’s boring to me. I don’t know why that is. maybe it’s a right-brain thing.
November 1st, 2004 at
My brother is not a “tough” guy, and I don’t think he would consider his masculinity to be in jeopardy because he played Barbies with me when he was seven years old. I wouldn’t have put that in there if I had thought he would care about it.
(More like Kelly 10,000, Brian 0)
November 1st, 2004 at
how can I have 0?
November 1st, 2004 at
Mike and I have declared it to be so.
November 1st, 2004 at
You guys are great “friends”
November 1st, 2004 at
At least we didn’t give you negative points.
November 1st, 2004 at
kari.. you would fit right in at Ole Miss..
the students get all dolled up to go to the home games.. Im talking.. the girls in dresses and make up.. with their hair up.. like they are going to prom.. the guys in suits and ties.. its.. something.. you should have been an Ole Miss gal..
November 1st, 2004 at
gee…thanks
November 1st, 2004 at
But, that’s football, right Trey? I don’t care for college football. Also, I think I am not quite THAT prissy.
November 1st, 2004 at
My almost-5 year old son Cameron plays with his sister’s dolls sometimes. Except when he plays with them he typically spreads the dolls’ arms out like the wings of a plane and he flys them around the room dropping pretend bombs on all the other toys.
My oldest daughter (turned 3 yesterday) is much more of a sports watcher than my son, though. He wants to go out and PLAY baseball, football, soccer, etc. She would rather watch, and I think it’s because she gets to cuddle with me on the couch when she watches the game with me. My son would rather watch Oprah or Trading Spaces for the same reason - it’s a time when he gets to cuddle with Gretchen. It’s not about what they’re watching, it’s about the company they’re keeping.
November 1st, 2004 at
Kari - I hear ya on the “I like watching sports but I’m a girly-girl” thing. I always wanted to watch more games than my friends in high school or college, and now that Brandon lives around the corner and has cable
I finally can, AND I have someone who gets excited WITH me (rather, more excited than I do!) about it. 
But I’m also definitely very girly. Cool to find someone else who is similar. 
November 2nd, 2004 at
if my kids don’t end up liking sports, they’ll grow up to say “i never really knew my dad.”
i’ve dated girls that don’t like sports, and it was a bit less enjoyable. there’s nothing like uniting under a common cause of wanting a team to win. 