Oakland A's fans know this feeling all too well after following an amazing 2012 season in which they claimed first place in the American League West (LET'S GO OAKLAND!!!!).
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| My boys and I |
As a kid I fondly remember getting ice cream at Baskin Robbins served in a cute little A's batting helmet. I even convinced my dad to buy me an A's flip up watch (wish I still had it!), but I gotta say I didn't really feel a true passion for the sport until I became a mom. As a single mom, I worry sometimes that I'm not equipped to influence my son in, you know, masculine ways, but I found that more importantly watching A's baseball together teaches him the value of achieving big things with very little money, especially when expectations from others are low; a true underdog story.
Speaking of baby, I'm a big wuss when it comes to relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, a lefty just like my son as you can see which hand he's holding his donut hole in. When he came into the scene, closing out games against the Yankees, I became mesmerized with the odd way that he holds up his glove to his neck before he pitches. It wasn't until later that I learned how truly talented and undervalued he is. Through out a number of injuries that almost ended his career, he went from being a first baseman to a pitcher.
As if that story wasn't touching enough, during a Q&A session Doolittle stated that he was an Air Force brat and that if he never became a baseball player he would've joined the military (be still my heart)! And get this.. turns out he's the great nephew of the famous General/Doctor James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle (Alec Baldwin played him in Pearl Harbor) of the United States Army Air Forces (this was before the Air Force was its own branch #WWII) . Whaaaaaat?! Crazy. Dubbed one of the unsung heroes of the A's, he's definitely my favorite.
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| How cool is this?! Doolittle stated that his dad was stationed "in the area" when he was 3-5 years old. With no other AF bases open at the time (or since) in our area, it had to be Travis AFB. Hua! (Pic tweeted by Sean Doolittle). |
For many reasons I wish I would've gotten into baseball before I became a mom. Loving sports and identifying with your favorite team is not only exciting, but it gives you a sense of community, keeps you from alienating yourself when times are hard (which is something I tend to do). I was pleasantly surprised to observe Kahlil and other small kids at the the FanFest making eye contact. It makes me smile wondering what they would've said to each other if their parents weren't frantically trying to get them from one autograph table to the next. One kid even tugged at his jacket just to say hi to him. Isn't that just awesome?
On the drive home I asked my son how he felt. He thought about it for a minute, then said, "Before I only could see Cocoa Crisp up close on TV... But today... Right now... I feel SUPER!" Pretty much summed up how I felt too.
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| Celebrating with the fam. A special birthday shout out and thanks to Rosan dela Cruz, one of the biggest A's fanatics I know, for taking us to FanFest... You will never know how special this day was for Kahlil! |
Have a super week, all.
K Bye!
