GO RED!!!

I may have inherited a few traits from my dad.  The obvious are the shape of my eyebrows and my talkability, but unless you know him well enough and were also with me Saturday, you probably wouldn't guess it.  I like to cheer at sporting events.

It's not that my mom didn't cheer at my siblings sporting events (I use "siblings" because they are far more athletic than I could have ever hoped to be).  Rather, it's that my dad would come home from a game hoarse.  I can't say it was that intense for me on Saturday, but I had the privilege of watching two nieces play superb basketball.  Since I know many of their teammates through work in Cimarron, I really cheered for the whole team, but the real reason I went was the excitement of getting to watch the two girls play and cheer for them.

Out here in the country, these girls have to travel to find other teams.  Several of the other smaller communities are in the same boat, so each hosts a weekend of tournaments for the various age groups.  I think all the teams are two grades, and as some communities don't have enough for both an all boys and all girls team, the teams are sometimes mixed.  I have had the pleasure of watching them in the past, though I admit I kind of hold out for the closer to home tourneys.  Many families travel the hour or two for the games and hang out in the gym all day as the teams make their way through the brackets.  Gratefully, they played in Springer this weekend, which meant I actually went home between the games.

Sara - either defending her territory or being double-teamed - can't remember which;

I do know she played her heart out against a team that was a lot bigger than her

This little one wondered why I was hiding behind a big camera and yelling so much.

Arms up for some tough D!

Smiling with a ribbon around her neck and the team's third place trophy!

 After a quick trip home to do a little more work on the house (I actually did some work before Sara's game, too; lest anyone think I was slacking) and grab a bite of lunch, I headed back in for the next game.  As the previous game wrapped up, Dave pointed out the other team.  I think I did a double take: the girls looked like freshmen in high school compared to out 5th and 6th graders.  What's more, they had a team of ten.  Maya is on a team of 5, which means no subs unless they invited some boys to play with them.  Saturday they were missing one girl, so had a few boys join them. 

Maya pushing to the hoop

 

Like her sister, arms up and ready for the rebound

It was a lot of fun hollering "Go Rams" and "Defense" and "Way to go, Red".  The girls both played their hearts out and gave it their all.  It looked like they were having a lot of fun, and admittedly, there is some warm nostalgia for my own days of playing basketball and volleyball and softball and soccer.  I don't remember the scoring (might not have) or the outcome of the games, and I am still trying to forget getting trampled as a catcher in softball and the asthma attacks that sometimes followed a game of hard running.  But I do remember the feelings of satisfaction, the adrenaline, and the excitement of being part of a team.  Watching the girls on Saturday reminded me of that, and I am looking forward to a couple more "nearby" tournaments.