Volume CXXXIII, Number 16 February 15, 2002 f

Olympics rekindle love of sports
ANDY MINESS
STAFF WRITER

With the Olympics in full flight, I have been reminded of the simple beauty in sports. For many of my peers and me, I am sure that the way we value sports has changed noticeably as we have matured. When I was younger, I learned about sports from my dad, and those are some of the greatest memories in my life: shooting hoops on the driveway, taking batting practice in the backyard, running football routes on the front-yard, and traveling to the town pool to use the tennis courts. The fact that my dad and I were doing those things together was what made them so special; and in turn, he taught me to love sports like he did, with the same competitive spirit.

This competitive spirit definitely contributed to the way I viewed sports. I did not see them as a mere extracurricular activity, because in my eyes they were more than that. Every baseball game became a tryout for the New York Mets, every basketball game placed me on the court at a Duke-UNC game, and every tennis practice became a night match at the US Open.

Sports had a hold on me, and they were something that I enjoyed very much. I could not get enough of the camaraderie from the team atmosphere, and the feeling right before a game started; that nervous tick in your stomach that only went away once the game began.

I would certainly not trade all the sports memories that I have from my childhood for anything in the world. The back-to-back little league championships in fifth and sixth grade, the win over Keith Carolan's red team (I was on the grey team) for basketball bragging rights and tennis matches against arch enemies from Lourdes and Arlington. Those memories are the best, I think back on them and I can remember the feelings as if I am experiencing them again. Of course I have grown up, but those moments will last forever in my heart.

As I have gotten older, my views on sports have changed in some ways. I no longer feel like I need to identify myself in terms of sports. I still love to compete against people and play games. In fact, my desire to win is stronger than ever, but I do not see sports as the "be all, end all." So with the Olympics going on, they have made me realize that people should be involved in sports because they love the game, not because they are expected to play or because they are so used to playing that they cannot imagine otherwise. For me, having fun is what sports are all about. I look back on the many memories that I have with my dad to remind me how to have that fun, and so I look forward to our next one-on-one game on the driveway….