Dear Little One #2

Okay kiddo. I have a confession to make. I am what you might call...a sports fanatic. The reason you need to know this is because the love of competition and athletics is something I will expose you to from day one. You will be wearing a Red Sox hat quite a bit...maybe for the first time when we take you home from the hospital...if your mom will let me. I am giddy thinking of you with a little Steelers jersey on too. A pink one if you are a girl! Over the years you will sit with me when I watch games and witness the most bizzare behavior. You may see some jumping up and down...some pleading...as I beg for my players to perform at the best of their ability...and some anger as I shout with frustration that my beloved team is losing or performing poorly. Hopefully in time you too will exhibit the same behavior. Now I don't expect you to root for the same teams as me. You can cheer for any team that you'd like....as long as it's the Red Sox and Steelers!!!

As a boy, your daddy and your uncle 'S' were always outside running around, climbing trees, and playing sports. Your grandma started me off when I was still in diapers. She used to soft pitch me the ball and I instinctively could hit. From those early days, before I even knew what sports were, I knew I enjoyed playing them more than anything else. Maybe it was because I was four years younger than my older brother (Uncle 'S') and I could actually play with and hold my own against the big boys and that when I did, your uncle would look at me and brag about his little brother's athletic abilities. Or, maybe it was because I wasn't close to your grandpa at the time and sports and the friends I made when playing filled some void a boy without a father's influence had. Whatever it was, I was hooked and couldn't get enough. My first love was baseball. Loved it. The first time I was put on the pitchers mound when I was five years old I could hear all the dad's commenting on how good I was and since I didn't have my dad around it was nice to hear those types of things to remind me that I was special...something a boy without his dad needs. So I had found the thing that set me apart from other boys. I was a really good pitcher. Later on in life I continued to play. I played all through little league, into highschool, college and then as an adult. I always admired the major leaguers who I wanted to be like and become one day. They were my heroes and despite not ever realizing the dream of playing in the pros, I never stray far from the game either by going to the ballpark, playing in the park or watching on television. Baseball is just a huge part of my life.

Today I met up with some like minded friends to conduct a fantasy baseball draft. This is where you all get together and pretend you are the owner/coach of real players and compete with the other "owner" to see who can build the best team. It is quite involved and makes me somewhat of a geek but I love it and hope you will learn to love it too as there is a father and son who "play" in my league and they seem to enjoy themselves immensely. There we all sat, shouting out our bids for the players we wanted. Back and forth until our rosters were full. Over the course of the season, the real players statistics and we see who put together the best collection of players. Basically we want to prove who knows the most about baseball. The players, the ballparks, the managers. There is a lot of luck involved which adds to the degree of difficulty. So far your dad has proven to be one miserable fantasy baseball player. Hopefully that will change. I think I had a good draft. The whole process makes watching games much more interesting and keeps you busy all summer througout the season.

Now when I was still a young boy I fell in love with a second sport. Basketball. The Boston Celtics were really good back in the 1980s and Larry Bird was one of the best players. I quickly learned the game and excelled...though I wasn't tall and was never quite as good at it as I was in baseball. Still, I played a lot, either on teams or just with my friends in the park. It was the daily hours I put on the court that enabled me to shed the baby fat I had from my early teen years. I will still watch games on television when I can.

Although I was never gifted with a certain type of body that would make me a good football player, and thus never played...my closest friends did and I grew to love the game so that to this day I prefer to watch football more than any other sport. There is just something magical about the exploits of professional athletes and the dreams boys have as a child to do what they do that can't ever be explained. You will see what I mean when you get bigger. I also play fantasy football just like for baseball. The difference is I am quite good at it and have won many times. There is a little more male banter that goes into fantasy football. Perhaps it's due to the nature of the sport. Bigger guys, big hits...more testosterone. We tease each other more and talk a whole lot of smack. It's real fun and I can't wait for it to begin every year. My favorite team the Pittsburgh Steelers won the superbowl a couple years ago but they aren't looking so hot nowadays. So you might see me getting animated and yelling at the TV screen. It's all in good fun. I try not to take it too seriously as it's just a game. I try not to.

I don't want you to ever think you have to play sports or enjoy them to make me happy. I want you to feel passionate about whatever it is that makes you happy. I will show you how to play if you are interested. If not, there are many things I like to do and learned to love that didn't involve sports. It is just one thing among many that we will have the opportunity to do together and I will love you whether you are a shortstop, a writer, a musician or just someone who hides away in their room reading or watching movies.

Your mom and I are quite active and we'd love it if you'd join us. Whether it is going on hikes, riding bikes, rock climbing or working out with weights. When you get older you alone will decide if these are things you'd like to do. Just don't be too surprised when you look back at your baby pictures if you see yourself wearing jerseys and all of us at the ballpark. Because until you have a choice in the matter I am going on the assumption that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and you will love sports as much as your old man doesn.

I love you
Dad