Why? Because mom was a baseball nut of the first order and her favorite team of all time was the San Francisco Giants. The last time she visited me in the Bay Area, she insisted I buy the cheapest outfield seats because she wanted to walk around (then) Pac-Bell Park and preferred the outfield bleachers. It was a perfect baseball day. I took off work early and we walked along the Embarcadero to the ballpark and watched her beloved Barry Bonds almost hit a homer into McCovey Cove.
The pleasure I got from watching these late season games nearly off-set the pain of missing mom and her droll insights this past year in sports. She would have been so thrilled for this team that came together and peaked at the right time, and their selfless and inspired pitching, defense and hitting.
The fantastic Giants win made me remember a couple of happy times for her when she was sick at the end of 2008 and into 2009.
There weren't many highlights during that time for us, but a couple of sports-related things did energize and excite her and helped us enjoy our time together.
The 1st bit of fun was a surprise visit in December by Misty May-Treanor and her husband Matt, yes, that Matt Treanor, currently playing with the Texas Rangers. My Uncle G is a long-time friend of Misty's dad. He and my aunt went to Beijing at Misty's invitation and watched her and Kerry Walsh win Gold in Beach Volleyball.
Uncle G decided to take the Treanors on a little detour to the windward side when they visited Hawai'i in 2008. Mom and my sister got their picture taken with a 2-time Gold Medal Olympian *but* all mom talked about later was how excited she was to talk with Matt Treanor about pro baseball and what his plans were (I think he had just been released by the Florida Marlins and was uncertain about his future). According to mom and my sister, Matt Treanor was a friendly, down-to-earth accessible guy. I think Misty was more of an enigma.
Matt Treanor bounced around teams quite a bit between that sickroom visit he made to my very ill mother who was "only" a friend-of-a-friend. He was traded to the Rangers in March this year, and now he's playing for the 1st time in a World Series against my mom's favorite-of-all-time baseball team, the San Francisco Giants.
My mom, being a true fan, would be cheering on her Giants, but she would be just as happy for Matt Treanor to win a Championship after slogging it out under the radar for so many years.
It's a win-win for me as I'll always be appreciative of how much my sports nut mother enjoyed Matt and Misty's visit 2 years ago.
The 2nd bit of fun with mom is tennis-related. She and I got up at weird hours and watched the 2009 Australian Open. While she appreciated (former No. 1) Roger Federer's tennis, she *loved* watching current No. 1, Rafael Nadal. Yes, she was an unorthodox, self-taught lefty who beat a bunch of club players for a local championship that her peers still talk about decades later. We had so much fun watching him win that tournament and that time period was the best she would feel, physically, throughout her chemo treatments.
This is what I posted on the blog on Monday, February 2, 2009:
tennis, anyone?
Mom and I stayed up into the wee hours Sunday to watch the Australian Open men's final. Mom's version of watching was to sit in her fold-out sports chair, bent over with her eyes closed. I would periodically rouse her and tell her to watch a replay of an amazing exchange or ask her if she wanted to get onto the bed and she would say, "No, because then I'll really go to sleep."
By the 5th set we were both wide awake to watch Rafa Nadal win his 1st hard court major. That last set was a lesson in focus of intent to the exclusion of physical discomfort, environment, and the other guy across the net, who may just be one of the greatest tennis players of all time. My take-away was that a great competitor beat a great artist and comparisons don't apply, but sports fans reap the benefit of one of the great rivalries of the current generation. Wow.
Long-time friends and family know which player mom most closely resembles. Hint: not the artist.Mom, your Giants finally brought home a Championship trophy to San Francisco and they did it the old school way - brilliant pitching, solid defense and no egos.
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