Passing it on

One of the primary reasons I started this blog was because as I got older I was becoming a little jaded with the workings of professional sports. I was tired of hearing all about the scandals, and the greed, and the laziness. It was getting harder and harder for me to remember the joy I had for sports growing up, the unadulterated love and excitement. Jim Valvano running around a basketball court looking for someone to hug, Kirk Gibson rounding second base pumping his fist on a bum leg, and Michael Jordan cradling the NBA championship crying like a baby. I was having a hard time find those same moments in today's sports culture.

This was particularly upsetting because my kids are getting older and my son in particular is starting to get into sports. I've been successful in making sure he loves the Steelers and Hawkeyes. He knows who the Minnesota Twins and Timberwolves are, and takes the occasional interest in watching a few minutes of any game whenever I'm watching. So, as his interest peaked, and he turned five, I decided it was time to take in a live sporting event.

Yesterday we headed to the Target Center to check out the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. the Denver Nuggets. I bought fairly good seats, but nothing outrageous that if he decided he wanted to leave at halftime it would still be worth it. We got to the game plenty early and Gabe showed a real interest and was a asking about a lot of the players as they warmed up. "Who's that", "Why is that guy doing that", "Which one is the Denver Nugget"? It helps that most NBA arenas, the Target Center included, pump a lot of hip-hop and up tempo music and dancing into the pregame. He started to get a little restless right before tip off, but I assured him he would enjoy the starting lineups. Crunch the mascot, and the Timberwolves dancers came out (which really grabbed Gabe's attention) and the lights went off. As soon as the spotlight came on, and 'Enter Sandman' started up, Gabe was hooked. He loved the introductions and stayed completely engaged throughout the game. Despite some shot clock problems in the first quarter which I thought was going to doom us, he loved every minute of it. He cheered at all the right times, got up and danced, and watched the entire game. Despite a huge blowout win by the Wolves and me wanting to leave midway through the 4th quarter, Gabe wanted to stay the whole game, and we did. These were his favorite things:

• The aforementioned cheerleaders. He kept a very close eye on them, and when they disappeared after half to go schmooze with the high rollers, he became genuinely concerned. When they reappeared between the 3rd and the 4th, he was relieved and make sure they didn't wander off again.
• Chris Andersen, "Birdman", from the Denver Nuggets really appealed to Gabe. Shortly after he entered the game he got fouled and they showed him on the big screen. With all of his tattoos, crazy hair, and wild beard I think Gabe thought he was a superhero. He only played five minutes, and Gabe asked every two minutes, "Where's Birdman?"
• Gabe was very concerned that when we bought his Kevin Love bobblehead doll, he would get a Denver Nugget one. He DID NOT want any Denver Nuggets stuff. This wildly amused the people behind us in line.

It was great experience, and let me understand where my joy from sports should be coming. Seeing the world of the NBA through the eyes of a five year old, was great, and it absolutely makes me look forward to sharing the experience with him, and his sister. As we were leaving, he even wanted to know when we were going to a football game. That will be a harder challenge when our choices are the Vikings and the Gophers. We are going to have to wait until the Steelers come to town, or travel to Kinnick to fulfill that request I think.


A few basketball related items from the game...

• Kevin Love has mastered the "thinking man's game" i.e. slow, white, and can't jump. He's not even close to his listed 6'10", I would say he's 6'8" if he's lucky. Because of his outside shot now he's really good at throwing a pump fake, getting a guy in the air and either getting fouled or just going around him. Also, there is no doubt he's a great rebounder, but yesterday in particular he got at least 6 rebounds that his teammates just let him have. A guy would have better position or a better angle and would back off if they saw Love there.
• Kenneth Faried for the Denver Nuggets is a freak. He had 17 points and never took a shot farther than 3 feet from the basket. He had at least five baskets when he got the rebound, threw the outlet pass, and then just beat everyone down court and got a dunk. At one point I thought Rick Adelman was  going to put in Brad Miller just to knock him out.

• The Timberwolves can't survive if they make the playoffs on jump shots. They have nobody that gets to the rim on a consistent basis, or effectively. I know they have some injuries right now, but they can't rely on that many jump shots if they are to make the playoffs. Wes Johnson, Martell Webster, Derrick Williams, Anthony Tolliver, every single one of those guys are long and athletic for their position and every single one of them relies on jumpers. The only other team that shoots that many jumpers is the OKC Thunder, except they shoot them with guys named Durant and Westbrook. BIG difference.

Overall I had a blast, I loved going to the game, and loved even more that Gabe had such a good time. There are only a handful of games left this season, but I see a future of a few Timberwolves games next year, and I can't wait.

Over