A Rite of Passage
Genuine | May 5
I am not speaking of a rite of passage like the time when young boys have a circumcision, or a birth story, but this rite of passage is the bonding of a child and his father. The time I have been waiting for has arrived.
I’m sure I am not politically correct when I say a man and his son are given this bonding gift, because I’m sure there are plenty of daughters and fathers out there that would love to share the same moment, but for me the part about having a boy is to connect on “manly” terms. You know the ones, like a lesson in how to give a “Dutch oven“, or how to spit, or how to punch a girl to let her know you like her. That kind of stuff. Come to think of it, I think I have taught my daughter these same things, but I digress.
My son and I will be going to our first sporting event, to see the Colorado Crush meet the Arizona Rattlers. Not his first sports event, but as father and son, our first. Nobody else competing for Daddy’s time, just me and him. We can take in the wonder of a crowd going crazy and share that moment when the home team scores, or maybe get lucky enough to take home a game ball souvenier.
No, I don’t speak of catching a foul ball off the bat of your favorite player, I am talking football. You see in arena football when a ball goes into the crowd, you get to keep the ball! It’s part of the excitement! Kinda like the part where the great big guy smashes the little guy into the wall, you know, excitement! To top it all off, we get end zone seats! This is where all the action is in arena football.
I guess I need to start the training program for my five year old so he can be prepared to enter into this new era of his life. He’ll have to be able to catch a ball thrown on a rope. Perhaps its time to start throwing darts at him with a real football and we can have that “Great Santini” moment. Better yet, I should tell him about the father/son code, when Daddy keeps looking at the cheerleaders, we don’t mention it to Mommy later.
I’m glad you mentioned the cheerleaders because I was gonna bust your chops about mentioning going to an arena game without mentioning the cheerleaders.
The first time I ever went, it took me about 15 minutes to realize the game had started. That is not something I mentioned to my wife either.
My dad and I had hockey; we always went together, just the two of us, and had a freakin’ blast. And I’m a girl. That’s all I’m sayin’.
Sorry, but I’m gonna have to hope that your first game is a loss. Been a season ticket holder for the Rattlers for 15 years so I’ll be rooting for the good guys in black on this one. Nonetheless, I hope it’s a memorable experience and get a football!
Too bad Arena Football never took of in New Jersey. We had teams TWICE here, one folded (Red Dogs) and the other moved to Vegas (Gladiators).
My daughter likes to watch football (much to her mother’s chagrin), but I would never subject her to a Giant’s (or Jets) game. Arena football just might have been the perfect ticket. Damn!