Is 2020 the delayed Y2K? It sure feels like it. A global pandemic has canceled all live sports. All. Live. Sports. It started with the NBA canceling games. Then, NCAA men's basketball conference tournaments. No March Madness. No Masters. Baseball spring training canceled - though that didn't really hurt me personally, the baseball season is already too long. No Olympics. Wimbledon? Nope. And if you think sports will be affected just for the next couple of months, you'd be wishfully thinking like me. We're most likely facing a fall without football. Or one we can't attend in person.
This shift in life of epic proportions, along with the amount of time for nostalgia which led me to share this blog with a friend, has gotten me out of retirement to write about sports in a time when there are no sports at all. When the world stops, it opens your eyes to what you cling to. I miss sports so much. It was a shock with the abrupt ending of the college basketball season. Many people consoled themselves by participating in mock brackets. Obviously for me, UK went all the way and won - like the last time I wrote here (another time of epic proportions).
Without the anticipation of sports as we've settled into this paused life, all I have is to watch the 10 part docuseries from ESPN on the 90s Bulls team and looking back on recent sports moments in hopes to bring back some of that absent and irreplaceable joy that only sports can bring into my life.
1. Tiger Woods winning the 2019 Masters. Wow. What an incredible comeback story. I've loved Tiger since he came onto the scene and won the tournament in 1997 as a 21 year old. Seeing him win again sporting his red shirt on Sunday gave me chills. I still get chills even as I write about it.
2. Sticking with the golf theme, going to a round of the British Open at the Portrush course in Northern Ireland 2019. I went with my parents and it was an absolute dream come true. We were rained on watching one hole, and shielding our eyes from sunlight on the next. A true British Open experience. We watched Tiger play the 6th hole and stroll down the fairway near us.
3. Watching LSU win the BCS championship 2020. You all know my love of Nick Saban and his teams, but rooting for Ed Orgeron in a post-Les Miles era was thrilling. I'll always be pro-SEC first and foremost. And this was a year that belonged to the Tigers, and NOT the Clemson ones.
4. Sitting 6th row at the Lakers vs. Kings in LA during Kobe's final season in 2016. Unfortunately, another huge shock to the world in 2020 was the sudden and tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant. As much as I've trash talked him before, I came around and really respect him and his accomplishments. When we lived in LA, we got hooked up with tickets six rows behind the Laker bench and it was the best. Cousins, Rondo and Cauley-Stein were on the Kings, so I got to see some of my favorite UK players as well.
5. Almost reaching the winning circle in a horse race. Family friends in Lexington own a horse farm and asked if we'd like to represent them at the Del Mar racing track. Their horse, Recepta, was in the final race of the day and - after being treated to a lovely meal in the president's box - we went to the paddock to see the horses walk around and then walked to the gates by the finish line to watch the race. Recepta was in first until the very end when the other horse got its nose out just barely to win. So close. We still made $16 on the race.
There are so many more memories but you get the point. Sports bring so much joy (and pain) to my life. I hope the time comes soon when we can continue to hold our breath, cover our eyes, jump up and down, yell at the top of our lungs and be taken to the highest of highs and lowest of lows while being delusional that any of the afore mentioned actions have any bearing on the outcome of the game.
