Sports Juggling

We live in a great time for sports.   I can watch every single Indians, Cavs, and Browns game. I even have the ability to stream my alma mater Kent State getting their clocks cleaned if I so choose.  It's great.  I pay a large bill to the good people at DirecTV each month for the privilege.  There is only one problem with this.  Where do I find the time to follow all of my teams as much as I would like?

 I work as a teacher for students with multiple disabilities, I have four kids, two of which are teenagers with full calendars filled with their own sporting events and no drivers licenses, the other two are twin hyperactive babies under two years  old, who don't want to spend their Sunday afternoons watching the Browns fail to convert on another third and long, and a wife who on occasion has been known to want to spend time with me.

As another fall playoff run for the Tribe begins, I find myself wondering how I can maintain all of my responsibilities and watch every pitch, dribble, and snap.  Those games ending after 11 and then time to mentally calm down, always hurt when that alarm goes off at 5:30 A.M..  My fear as a sports fan is that I will become what I fear most.... a fair weather fan.  For many years, I wondered how people wouldn't tune in and follow their teams religiously in good times and bad.  Why wouldn't they be loyal?  Why will they only pay attention when Lebron James is wearing a Cavaliers uniform?  Why are they only filling Progressive Field when the Tribe has built the perfect team?  

Watching a sporting event with the twins in the house is difficult and requires a DVR and about 5 real time hours.  Instead of spending my Sunday afternoon wondering why the Browns have completely abandoned the running game, I am pulling one year olds down from book cases, removing toys that have become stuck on heads, and breaking up screaming tug of wars over a cup.  

I worry that if I don't watch almost every second of every game, how will I know what my teams need to improve on.  As of yet I haven't fielded that call from my team's general manager so I could tell them that point guard depth has been an issue, but I liked to know that I was ready just in case.  I love being that fan that never gave up, never left, was always watching.  

When the Cavs broke my life long championship drought in June 2016, it was legitimately the third greatest moment of my life.  Marrying my wife, the birth of my children, and then seeing the Cavs become champions.  My friends text chain, which had been burning up for the entire playoffs, was overloading after the game. My best friend said that the person he was happiest for was me, because I had always been a fan, in good times and bad.  I wore that text as a badge of honor.  I DESERVE this.  I did it the RIGHT way. Now I didn't make a single shot or play a second of defense, but I deserved this championship.  That is how I felt.  My championship ring still hasn't arrived yet but these things take time.

As the twins have gotten older and much more of a responsibility, I have less time to watch my teams.  As the new Cavs season dawns, I have to ask myself.  Can I sit and watch 75 games?  I have so many people in home and classroom who rely on me.  Despite what I would like to think, Lebron James, Fransico Lindor, and Joe Thomas, don't need me.  I need to be okay with not being the guy, that when all my friends jump back in come playoff time, who can say, "The Cavs used rotation XYZ for ten minutes on a Tuesday in February against Memphis, and they had trouble getting back side rebounds."  

I have a family that wants to be able to say to me, remember when we went out and climbed trees, used sidewalk chalk, built a snow fort, or played catch.  I need to tell myself that it is okay that I don't watch that Tuesday night game in February in Memphis.  They are still my teams and I love them, but I have a team that I am the captain of that needs me more.  Sports needs to be an escape from the grind.  Not the grind.

I am going to spend more time being a part of a team that I am ACTUALLY a part of.  It's going to be way more rewarding.  I'm excited for that.

But if someone will let me know how our back side rebounding looks on Tuesday in February against Memphis, I would love to know. 



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