Should Have Watched It With My Dad

When I was incredibly young, I never understood why fathers watch sports. I have seen them in movies and on television shows. There is usually a father who is into sports. Of course, my dad (God bless his soul) had always been a huge fan of sports – especially football, boxing, and basketball. I am sure he watched other sports on television as well, but those were the three main sports I had always caught him watching.

As I was growing up, I could not stand the fact that my dad would take the time to watch sports. I would always roll my eyes when he was rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles on TV. It was nothing against the Eagles; it was more-so the fact that I did not understand American football. I will admit that even though I was not really a fan of basketball, I was digging the activity of tossing the ball through a basket. Sure, shooting hoops can be fun, but I could never sit through a basketball game – even when the 76ers were playing.

Before I talk about boxing, I want to mention that I have been a huge fan of professional wrestling for as long as I can remember. I would faithfully watch WWE (at the time, it was called WWF), NWA, WCW, ECW, and a few other wrestling organizations. I remember when Hulk Hogan bodyslammed the late Andre the Giant. I enjoyed the feud between the late Dusty Rhodes and the Four Horsemen. The professional wrestlers and the storylines were the main reasons why I enjoyed watching it on television. I would ignore the non-fans and critics’ comments, mentioning that it was “fake.” Really, it was not, but that is beside the point. Getting back to boxing, it was not entertaining enough for me to watch even a short match. Sure, I respect boxers like Mike Tyson. However, I found it dull when I watched two people throw only punches at each other. Yes, I have watched a few boxing matches with my dad – but only when I was super bored.

So, you see, I was never thrilled about sports when I was young. It meant nothing to me. I did not feel it would be necessary for me to learn the rules of these sports. In school, I would disregard the idea of playing them. However, something happened in high school that made me realize that maybe I should have watched them with my dad.

This Happened in High School

There was an occurrence in high school that was not only comical, but utterly embarrassing as well. Many times, not all, when a person experiences an embarrassment, it is because something riotous happened to them. For me, it had something to do with football. Yes, of all things, football.

Honestly, I do not recall what grade I was in when this hilarious incident happened. I am assuming it is because I wanted to erase this memory – or at least have it hidden and locked deep in the mental archives of my head. I believe I was a junior or a senior at the time, and I do recall it was very close to summer. All I know… I was really looking forward to graduating from high school (even more) after what happened.

One unpredictable day, our gym teacher wanted the whole class to play a game together. I am sure that you can guess what game it was based on what I just mentioned. So, of all games, he had us play a game of football. Not basketball. Not soccer. Not even tag. Unfortunately, all of us outgrown duck, duck, goose – so, that was sadly out of the question. It had to be football. My friends knew that I was not the sporty type. They knew me as very shy and considered me as a bookworm. They never expected me to say one word about football – much less, play a game of football with the boys.

At the time, I was sick to my stomach when the gym teacher made that decision for the whole class. I knew that playing football was a bad idea. It was plain and simple. I had no knowledge of how to play the game whatsoever. Well, maybe a pebble-sized knowledge.

Here are the things I knew about football based on getting a glimpse of the games that my dad watched:

1. The quarterback throws the ball.

2. Players run around on the field and knock each other down.

3. A touchdown is part of the game – but I did not know what it was.

4. That was it.

So, I was assigned to a team, and I think I was the last pick. When the game started, the opposite team had the ball. Everyone started running, and I had no choice but to follow along. To pretend that I knew what I was doing, I was mimicking the actions of my friends. In the meantime, my heart was beating rapidly, and I was nervously sweating from my forehead. The opposite team made their touchdown and cheered. I did not know what a touchdown was until I saw one of my classmates from the other team did that. Even though I found out that the goal of the game is to make these touchdowns to win, I still had no clue how to play the game. I did not know at what point can we make these touchdowns.

You know when one team kicks the ball to the other team for them to catch it and run to the opposite side? Okay, here is what happened. It was my team’s turn to have the ball (and I did not figure that out at the time). The other team kicked the ball towards my team. All of us on my team were waiting for the football to land in one of our hands. We were preparing ourselves to catch this ball.

Want to know who actually caught it?

It was me! Yes, I was the one who caught the football.

So, my teammates were cheering. They could not believe that I, a quiet girl, caught this football. They thought it was cool, and my friends were incredibly happy that I caught this ball. Even the opposite team showed a positive reaction. So, as I am holding this ball and the other team were running towards us, everyone was waiting for me to make my move.

Want to know what I actually did after I caught this ball?

Okay... here goes...

As I was watching the other team rushing my way, I threw the football right back at them.

I actually threw the ball back!!!

Immediately, the thunderous sound of laughter exploded on the field. Everyone was laughing at me – including my friends and the gym teacher. The situation was so funny that my teammates did not have the energy to be upset over my actions. I guess they understood that I knew nothing about football. I guess they were not surprised that I did not run with the ball. Sure, I was extremely embarrassed. However, I laughed along with them just to show everyone that I was having an enjoyable time. I felt that if I cried or showed my anger, I would be even more embarrassed.

Ever since that mistake happened, I decided to watch football (and other sports) with my dad. It was my way to learn how to play. I remember I asked my dad a bunch of questions about football. I doubt that I was getting on his nerves with my unlimited questions; at least, he did not show it. Eventually, I finally understood football. In addition to that, I even became a huge fan. I could see why families watch the Super Bowl together every year.

So, that was my first and only experience of playing football with my friends. The situation was one of the funniest moments in my life. Would I want to relive that experience? Regardless of how embarrassed I was, yes, I would not mind reliving that experience. After all, I would never love football if that did not happen – no matter how painful it was.