Why I will never complain about an 8am start time again...

As 2024 started we had the busiest planned January of our lives.... Sav was headed to Minnesota, Stanford, Tennessee and Arizona. Joey was also headed to Oregon and Tennessee on what was supposed to be the start of his return to recruiting... Mother Nature decided she was not having it. Oregon was canceled due to what they called the worst storm they had seen in 100 years. The following weekend Tennessee was canceled for what was considered a 100 year snow storm the state was dealing with. Stanford was amazing and wouldn't you guess it, I did not make it. I was supposed to be in Oregon with Joey and my wonderful mother had offered to take Sav. They had a plan and I let my mom enjoy the journey for the day. Turns out it was an epic day.

MInnesota was amazing until we touched down and Sav started to feel sick. I was so bummed. All that way and she gets sick. Like a trooper she showed up to date 1 of the 2 day camp and attempted to shine but as my great buddy Z has told me since the kids were little better to not be there then to be there and suck. She did not make the second half of day 1 or day 2. We did get to walk around the campus and explore what 22 degrees in January feel like. Te be honest it was not bad at all. We expected it to be a lot colder and oh as we departed it got down to 7 degrees.....

Onto my topic. As we explored the campus we ran into various parents of other women athletes. There was a huge crowd at our hotel from UConn. Only knowing that UConn hoops is legit I ask the dad about his visit and explain how excited he is for tonight's match up against Minnesota. I ask oh is she a hooper and he says no we are here for Hockey. Like a true Californian I respond with oh I thought you said your daughter. He says ya I did and then I follow up my foot in the mouth comment with "Girls play hockey?" Buddy almost lost his shit but could tell I was a little special needs ie: Californian so he goes 'Hey man Minnesota is ranked #2 in the country and tonight's matchup is a powerhouse". So I did my thing and learned that Woman's Hockey is so big that in fact there is a pro league. Minnesota women's hockey has an awesome facility and history to it. Pretty cool, glad I do not have to watch it and sit at an ice rink on a regular basis. Bring on the 8am softball games.

Then we saw a bunch of people walking into what appeared to be a small football stadium. They were carrying so many different types of bags and cases it caught our attention. One lady rolled up with her daughter and had a 15 foot drain pipe strapped to her Subaru. Then another mom and daughter came walking out with a similar rig. Turns out they were having an indoor track and field meet. What in the world is that? Let's go check it out. Inside was a huge event with a track, long jump sand pit and pole vault. Now I will be honest I was never into track so watching pole vaulters for the first time was nuts. Pretty cool. However this was an "open" event so there were 13 year olds competing against 33 year olds. Guys vs Girls it was an all out competition. They were running 100 meter races around the entire thing. Packed all in was fun people watching looking at racers try to stretch and not get run over and seeing spectators navigate all the live action trying to get to their seats. Spoke to one parent who said they would be there all day waiting for their kids' heat to go only to have to wait around a few hours for the next race. All in all they would have about 6 hours at the venue for their kid to legit run about 3 minutes of actual action. Bring on those 8am baseball games!

Last but not least we happen to make our way to the women's hockey arena. It was killer. It was also next to the Minnesota tennis facility which was also kind of cool. Being born and raised where indoor events are strictly limited to Basketball or indoor soccer all of these venues seemed pretty cool. I liked the idea that even if it was 20 degrees out you could still roll over to the venue and get some tennis in. Then I saw the straw that broke the camel's back. Out on the ice were about 20-30 teenage girls. I assumed they were warming up for hockey practice. Parents were in the search watching and coaches were down on the ice giving them a Pep talk. Then it hit me, where is their gear? Of course I am not sure about proper attire and perhaps Lululemon is acceptable for practice but they do need gloves, helmets and their sticks! Right? Then the music drops and they all start skating.....Yup you guessed, ice skate dancing. My eyes drew to all the moms videoing and singing along. They were really into it. Some of the dads were walking laps around the stadium on their phones even watching NFL games on them. That was when it hit me that I won't be complaining any more about early games or late games because I truly enjoy being there. Do not get me wrong I think all of the parents there that day love watching their kids compete at what they do, it's just for me I am happy it was not mine out there.I will head into this season pay for parking, show my cooler to the gate folks and pay admission to the tournament I have already paid for my child to attend and do it with an ounce of gratitude because at least I am not doing it while it is 7 degrees out and walking into the rink! Here is to a happy and healthy 2024 for all of our kids regardless of if they are wearing cleats, skates or track spikes!