Basketball and My Dad

I believe in watching sports with my dad, particularly basketball. Going to Suns games with my dad is one of the best memories and experiences in my life. The best thing about going is just spending time with my dad one-on-one, enjoying something we both love. Basketball wouldn’t be the same without him. I feel at peace when we’re together talking about teams and discussing what’s happening on the court.

Last year, the Suns played the San Antonio Spurs and won. Some of the best things at a basketball game are the atmosphere of the arena and actually seeing how enormous the players are. Steve Nash is six feet, three inches tall and he looks like a little kid compared to the other players (for example, Shaq and Stoudemire). I remember when we were sitting in our seats, really good ones, in fact, and saw Muhammad Ali, who is a retired, world famous boxer, and John McCain, politician running for president, sitting down in the first few rows.

Another one of my favorite games was when we played the LA Lakers. The crowd at that game was insane! The arena was roaring with noise, but in a good way. Every time Kobe so much as touched the ball the Phoenix fans booed like crazy! Even on the court our mascot, Hairy the Gorilla, was handing out tissues to all of the humiliated LA spectators because they were losing pretty badly. The sad thing is the majority of those LA fans actually flew in from California…just to watch their team lose! It was a satisfying win for us. I remember just looking over and smiling at my dad throughout the game, and thinking the same thing: we’ve definitely won this.

During school, I would always look forward to going home to get ready for a game. Going to a game would make any bad day of mine a million times better. I’ll admit I was always anxiously waiting, but I was proud to say where I was going after school. It was the highlight of any week, and one of the most enjoyable pastimes I ever had.

Honestly, basketball season to me means more than just watching games and hoping my home team will win the playoffs. It’s about being with the coolest guy in the world and someone I love dearly: my father.