This past weekend was all about sports in my household. My daughter is playing youth basketball right now, and my husband is coaching her team (Team Kiwanis, of course, because Kiwanis helps fund the local youth sports program). And saint that he is, my husband is also coaching a second third/fourth-grade basketball team. A boys team, this time.
Both teams play every Saturday, so half of our day is spent at the basketball court. It’s so much fun watching these kids learn and grow, not only with their own abilities but also as a team.
And, of course, half of Sunday was dedicated to a sport with a different kind of ball. Football.
I’ve always loved watching the Super Bowl. I still remember the excitement surrounding the 1985 Chicago Bears—they even had a theme song and dance. (Remember the Super Bowl Shuffle? If not, click here.) I remember the Bud Bowl commercials and the Pepsi commercials. Even in the years when I didn’t care so much about the games, I was in it for the commercials.
But this year, for the first time in a long time, I was in it for the game. My husband has been a Chiefs fan since he was a kid. And this year, finally, the Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl. So this Super Bowl was a family event. All three of us (Nola included) donned our Chiefs gear and cheered on our team.
Honestly, that was the best part of the game. This Super Bowl will stick in my mind just as much as those pivotal games from my childhood. And hopefully, in Nola’s as well.
Now, we don’t have any novels about football, per se, but we do have a wonderful book that will help you appreciate the love of another sport that involves a ball: golf.
The First Tee Panic: And Other Very Real Golf Stories by Dean Wesley Smith will give you a whole new appreciation for the game.
Former PGA Golf Professional and USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith walks you step-by-step, club-by-club from your car to the first tee and beyond in a laugh-out-loud style that not only teaches, but entertains. Any golfer recognizes the fears, the patterns, the downright horrors of the first shot of a round. Ever topped that first shot just off the front edge of the tee box? Or worse yet, whiffed it completely? Come on, admit it. It happened. Remember? The problems with that first shot don’t start with the swing. Nope, the problems start in the parking lot. And this book will get you flawlessly from the parking lot, through the clubhouse, onto the driving range, over the putting green, and finally successfully off the first tee with a smile.
Click here for more information.
So, whether it’s balls you bounce, pass, or hit with a club, be sure you take the time to enjoy what makes the game worth playing (or watching).
Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer, working mother, and brain tumor survivor.