How is it possible that at the end of a day when no sports game turned out like I wanted or at least expected it to, that I'm feeling so positive about sports in general? It was proven to me that although I am socially awkward at times, often slow to warm up to new people, that the language of sportsball is a reliable crutch for me to fall back on when I'm in danger of retreating into shyness. I forget to be awkward, forget to stammer, forget to hold back my opinions when discussing which teams I like and what sports I follow. Live sporting events are bonding experiences for me, and I feel like I'm surrounded by best friends who I've never met (and whom I will likely never see again). I love being in a crowd at a game, even if they're cheering for the opposing team.
Tonight I was at a game that was almost entirely cheering for the home team, as was I. My buddy and I took the new foreign exchange student from Rotary to a CU basketball game. (New because he transferred here from a smaller town over the holidays.) His current host family had helped him create a bucket list of things he wanted to do while he was in Colorado, including camping, snowboarding, and attending events like the Stock Show or a CU or CSU sports game. I'm not the girl to take anyone camping or skiing, but I immediately jumped up and offered to take him to a CU basketball game. I was so glad when he accepted my offer.
I'd been excited about going for weeks, and was so pleased that it was finally time to go. We picked up the young man from Spain at his local home, and stood around a bit talking to our Rotary sister and her husband. (While we admired her house, her large black dog and blue-eyed brown cat competed for my attention. They absolutely recognized me as the animal lover I am, and they each took turns holding out a paw, asking for pets, while I was showing affection to the other. What a pair.) We drove to Boulder, learning about what sorts of sports the teenager enjoyed and played back in Spain. He says he is considering trying out for the baseball team at the high school here, even though he's never played before. And I was surprised that he says he likes watching American football so much. We made a mental note to try to take him to the CU Spring Scrimmage so that he gets to see a game while he's here.
The basketball game was exciting. CU led for the entire first half. Early in the second half, USC tied it up, and then they switched leads a few times before USC opened up a few points' lead near the end. A well-timed 3 pointer gave CU a one point advantage in the last minute, but USC answered and went up by one. All CU had to do was get a regular basket, not a 3 point shot, in the remaining 26 seconds. But the referees had other plans. There were many questionable calls (e.g. there was NOT tripping--we all saw the replay on the big screen), and a foul at the end put CU down by 3. They tried, but could not tie the game in the final seconds. I really wanted the exchange student to be there for a win, but alas, it was not to be. Perhaps we could take him to see the women's team. They're playing much better this year than the men. We shall see how February plays out.
No comments:
Post a Comment