I love my dad, but he and I are very different. The only activity we had in common was shooting. I was an athlete. He was an intellectual. He liked photography. I liked photographed women. I never noticed how odd it was that my dad never attended one of my games regardless of which sport. Not at least, until I was in my early 20's. When it did occur to me I shrugged it off knowing we were just cut from different cloth.

Among other sports, I used to play city league softball in an area of the country where such a thing was a big deal. I played for a sponsored team. I was fast because I was young. I was very fit because I rode and raced 10 speed bikes some 70 miles a week. So my coach put me in left center. My batting philosophy was to just get on base. I wasn't a heavy hitter.

One night at a well attended game, on my way to the plate, I saw my dad sitting a few rows up just left of home plate. The sight of him made me stop and stare. He waved, looking out of place in the crowd. I returned a wave with a smile. I approached the plate with the usual ritual and did what I really didn't want to do. I struck out.

For a guy with a team high batting average, it was a bummer to do in front of dad at the only game I've ever seen him in. My field play was typical and I felt redeemed. The next at bat was under some pressure. I really wanted to get a double. Nope. Struck out again. Went down looking too. That's the worst.

Near the end of the night I got a third at bat. I determined I wasn't going to try anything special. If the ball came toward the plate right, I was just going to slap it over second base and get a single. We were down by one and there was on second.

I don't know how it is now, but back then you never swung at the first pitch. Coach would come down on a guy pretty hard for that. But this pitch just hung there like a juicy peach and I swatted it. The ball rocked over the short stop and straight to left center. LC was charging fast to scoop the ball and make a throw home if need be.

Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, the ball took a bad hop and it sailed over LC's shoulder. I was half way to second base when I saw that and poured on the speed. I was rounding third and gaining on my tubby teammate when the ball was retrieved. Tubby crossed home plate as the throw was made and I crossed before the ball flew over the mound.

I caught my dad's eye on the way back to the dugout. He was grinning even more than I was. This was not my most spectacular play. Wasn't even my favorite sport. But my dad got to see my only in the park home run. He never mentioned it when I got home. Didn't need to. I was pretty stoked. All of these years, all of the games and competitions, all of the races and meets......he finally saw me and I him at one remarkable moment.

I hadn't though about it in decades until something a member posted tonight about his dad.

That’s a great story. I enjoyed it very much. It sent me back a few decades too. Reflection is a blessing and a curse at the same time; mostly blessing I think.

Good he came and you persevered!

Thats a good story of your dad seeing a positive moment.

My dad & I are pretty opposite also, I always tell a time with my dad that I think of as funny.

Went into the military right out of high school, had been away from home for 3 years or so. Mostly overseas. While on a 20-day leave, met my buddy in his home-town (Pittsburgh, PA) stayed several days and hung out with his family. Very nice folks, enjoyed it immensely. He & I drove up to my home-town (Akron, OH), en-route to his duty station of K I Sawyer, MI (since closed).

Hung out with mom & took it easy, buddy & I picked up my dad couple nights later for bowling & pool with my 3 brothers. At the end of the only planned time with my dad, we drove him home, he gets out of the car and says "Okay, see you later". Walks away not another word. My buddy exclaims "He can't do that!!"

I'm thinking, see ya in a few more years, dad. Lol.

Excellent memory, and story!

Very nice story, and thanks for sharing. Also made me reflect on my father (who passed several years ago).

that's hand of God stuff right there !

great story.

very similar to my Dad. no affinity for sports whatsoever. but that's okay -- he introduced me to guns / shooting when I was in elementary school so we shared many fun days on the range when I was growing up.

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Great story, darthfuster.

That was a fantastic way to start my morning! Thank you for sharing that DF.

My pops and I are pretty different as well. He’s also an intellectual type, mathematician and physics. While those are interesting subjects to me, it’s not like we had them in common. He was on a totally different level.
My pops did come to most all my games, and supported me a lot. Football, I sucked. Baseball, I sucked. Basketball, didn’t even make the team. Then there was wrestling. Even though I lost at State, I could see how proud he was that I made it that far. Seeing me win the matches up to state, after the pin, and looking up in the bleachers and seeing his excitement and cheering, made it for me.

Later I turned from wrestling into what we now call MMA (mixed martial arts), as back then there wasn’t really a name for it. Being that pop is an old hippie, he saw it as gladiator games and never watched me once.

In celebration of 'remarkable moments' here's my own suddenly recalled memories:

My dad didn't attend any of my school events, whether in the few sports I played, music programs, or other stuff. He was a catskinner with an odd work schedule depending on where the project was located.

I was about 21, finishing up college with my own odd schedule, & had a serious girl friend. I got home a little late one night....OK, it was 'a little early'.....we had 2 driveways. I pulled into the one near the house and got out into the glorious starry predawn. He was getting into his work rig in the other driveway. He turned and just stood for a few moments, looking at me. I felt like it was a home run look. We never spoke about that moment either.

Great story, my friend


Appears we had similar fathers. However, mine had no interest in anything i did.

Very glad you got that experience

I wrestled from 8th-12th grade. Dad went to most matches. One time the official raised the other guys hand at the end of the match even though I had beat him on points. Dad jumped up and was stomping his way down the bleachers and yelling (nice deep voice like mine). The official went to the scoring table and got his act straight and declared me the winner.

After the team was done, he came over to apologize and said "I knew immediately I had done something really bad wrong when that guy was coming down the bleachers..."

My Dad moved 900 miles away when I was 2. I played lots of sports. My Dad also came to only one game. Happened to be baseball as well though I don’t recall if I played any better or worse than usual and I don’t even recall if we won or lost. I do recall the exact park and field we played on and that it was the most excited I was to ever play because my Dad was there.

Weird how that works. Dad leaves when I was two and see him 2 maybe 3 times a year and out of probably 1,000+ games I played over my entire sports career to include championship wins, breaking city records for home runs in a single game, if I could go back and relive one it is the one I don’t even recall the details of the game but Dad was there.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
My Dad moved 900 miles away when I was 2. I played lots of sports. My Dad also came to only one game. Happened to be baseball as well though I don’t recall if I played any better or worse than usual and I don’t even recall if we won or lost. I do recall the exact park and field we played on and that it was the most excited I was to ever play because my Dad was there.

Weird how that works. Dad leaves when I was two and see him 2 maybe 3 times a year and out of probably 1,000+ games I played over my entire sports career to include championship wins, breaking city records for home runs in a single game, if I could go back and relive one it is the one I don’t even recall the details of the game but Dad was there.

Interesting how that is so important. I rarely missed a game or event my boys were in. Because I knew how I felt when mine was there once. But I think the most fun the Jr DFs and I had was going shooting together. They are all grown now and have their own lives. I go shooting alone now. It’s enjoyable but not nearly as much as when my shooting buddies were there with me. As often as we went there can be no regrets but I miss those days terribly.

I had a largely detached upbringing. As long as I got good grades and stayed out of trouble, my parents for the most part left me alone.

It's one thing to be uninterested in your child's sports, but mine downright discouraged me. They were totally not into sports and sporting culture and thought any expense for sports and fitness was a waste of money.

My mother attended 1-2 of my orchestra recitals, not b/c she cared to see me play, but b/c is was less inconvenient to stick around than to drop me off and pick me up later. I did the school musical one year, and she did attend that.

Neither my mother nor father attended any of my track meets. I played organized lacrosse in HS and throughout college, and they never attended any of my games either.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
I had a largely detached upbringing. As long as I got good grades and stayed out of trouble, my parents for the most part left me alone.

It's one thing to be uninterested in your child's sports, but mine downright discouraged me. They were totally not into sports and sporting culture and thought any expense for sports and fitness was a waste of money.

My mother attended 1-2 of my orchestra recitals, not b/c she cared to see me play, but b/c is was less inconvenient to stick around than to drop me off and pick me up later. I did the school musical one year, and she did attend that.

Neither my mother nor father attended any of my track meets. I played organized lacrosse in HS and throughout college, and they never attended any of my games either.

That's sad. Even if you don't care for what they are doing (my daughters ballet recitals when they were barely old enough to balance on two legs...) you love the child enough to go sit through it for an hour or so.

still remember the last round of golf I played with my dad. One of hundreds. He is in a nursing home now fighting dementia.

But I remember on the 9th fairway, a par 5 he had duffed a drive, then a mediocre fairway wood to get him in striking distance.

He drew a 5 iron, stood over the ball and said "I'm going to hit the shit out of this MF-er" and he did, just short of the green.

We laughed our asses off. It was a heck of a good time.

same here bro.
he came to one baseball game. stayed an inning or two. watched me miss a ball in the outfield and left. a different ending. but i stunk at sports so i don't really blame him.

Very nice story. I find it interesting the differences in generations. My folks never attended anything I did while in HS. My wife and I never missed one of our kids events. Now we have grand kids that are involved in various things. We try to get to as many as possible.

Great story, thanks for sharing it.

My mom and dad (and aunt and uncle) came to every football game I was on the team for, including my first year in junior high when I maybe got on the field a couple of times for a play or 2. It was great when I was finally starting on the varsity team and made it to the state championship my senior year and playing at Bryant Denny stadium and Legion Field for the last organized football game I played.

Went to all the games for my two older sons (and coached their little league baseball team for a couple of years) and made it to all of my daughter's horse shows until one of us had to start staying home on the multi day shows to take care of all of our other critters. Traveled all over southern Appalachia for my sons football games and all over east TN and then KY, VA, NC, OH and GA for horse shows.