My oldest daughter turned thirteen years old yesterday and it got me to thinking about all her interests versus my interests at the same age. At thirteen, she is interested in IPODS, her cell phone, MySpace, PETA, boys, make-up, clothes from Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister, Juicy Couture perfume & lotions. She loves attending High School Football games (not to watch the sport- but to talk to her girlfriends and bat their eyes at cute boys). She likes to dance. She loves acting (although she doesn’t fit the normal thespian/drama kid mold). She is completely engrossed in the social network and gossips sparingly via text messaging. She talks about working out- but seldom does. Lastly, she thinks Tim Tebow is hot.
When I was thirteen, sports ruled the world. Georgetown beat Houston in the NCAA National Championship. The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA Title in seven games. Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkely were drafted into the NBA. Larry Bird was the MVP. The Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles and the US Team brought home more medals than any other country (174 total). Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton became America's most famous Olympic Champions. The LA Raiders beat the Washington Redskins in the Super Bowl. Wayne Gretzsky dominated the NHL. Doug Flutie won the Heisman Trophy. John McEnroe beat Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon and Martina Navratilova was the first openly #### professional athlete (that I can remember).
Our commonalities and interests are not that far removed. I was interested in sports in large part because pretty girls who wore nice smelling perfume and dressed trendy would come to the sporting events. I was into social networking- although back then it was going to a dance so that I might be able to slow groove with a member of the opposite sex. I liked the competition and the thrill of winning and the tragedy of defeat. Sports were my outlet and metaphorical to just about anything life could throw at me. Lastly, I have a man-crush on Tim Tebow too.
What does all this have to do with a Sports Post- well, it’s my opportunity to make predictions for 2008/09 like I did when I was a kid.
1. NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers will win the NBA Championship but only after being taken to seven games by the up and coming Trail Blazers in the first round of the play-offs. The Eastern Conference opponent (insert favorite team here) is merely a road bump and loses in five games.
2. NBA Rookie of the Year Award: Three Trail Blazers finish in the top 5 voting- splitting votes and allowing Kevin Love to walk away with Rookie of the Year honors by averaging 15/12. OJ Mayo gets busted for something.
3. NBA MVP: Kobe Bryant wins again and never utters a word about Paul Pierce.
4. NFL: The Dallas Cowboys will lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Carolina will meet Seattle in the NFC Championship game. Jonathon Stewart will rush for 160 yards but it won’t be enough. Seattle will lose to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl due to poor officiating (again).
5. Adrian Peterson will be the NFL’s MVP and then get injured in the Pro-Bowl.
6. Darren McFadden will prove to be a bust because everyone knows football is played tougher on the west coast than in the SEC.
7. Baseball: the Chicago Cubs finally win the World Series.
8. Oklahoma will win the National Championship- but only because USC simply cannot make it through a tough PAC10 schedule.
9. Tim Tebow will win the Heisman Trophy and immediately declare he is staying for another year.
10. LSU beats Appalachian State during the season by 63 points- only to prove that the SEC is better than the Big 12.
11. Oregon State will make it back to the College World Series and beat the North Carolina Tarheels (again).
12. UCLA will win the NCAA Basketball title (finally- and again). Coach Ben Howland (former Head Coach at Northern Arizona University, my alma mater) wins Coach of the Year.
13. Kasey Keller returns from Europe to play in the MLS for Portland’s new professional team.
Dreams and Predictions, wins and losses- to a thirteen year old, it’s still hoping the hottie will share a slow dance before the end of the night. To a dad of a thirteen year old- it's just hoping it won't happen...
I am a graduate of Northern Arizona University and Florida Institute of Technology. I am a veteran (3/3 SFGA). I prayed once to be surrounded by beautiful women and was blessed with a wife and three daughters (13 and 7 year old twins). My wife is a Oregon State Beaver Alum and we are Blazer-Maniac s.
