My dad is the person responsible for getting me into sports so since I've been in a list-making mood lately (see my last entry), here's a run-down of the top 10 sports moments with my dad, in no particular order.
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No. 14 Indiana at Wisconsin Men's Basketball on Mar. 5, 2000
We had seats at the very top row of the Kohl Center, but it did not stop me screaming my lungs out as Bobby Knight smashed his clipboard into the floor and stormed off the court as the pieces scattered and Dick Bennett and the Badgers would win 56-53, which turned out to be a precursor for their Final Four run.
Seattle Mariners at Milwaukee Brewers on July 18, 1991
My dad took me to my first game and Ken Griffey, Jr., put on a show, going 5-for-6 with three RBI and scaling center field to rob a homer during a 12-0 route at Milwaukee County Stadium.
Portland Trailblazers at Chicago Bulls on June 14, 1992
The Bulls trailed by 13 and it looked like a Game 7 was unavoidable so I was crying my eyes. My dad reminds me of this to this day! But then the unthinkable happened, with Michael Jordan on the bench with foul trouble, out when the Bulls were down 13 to the Blazers in Game 6 of the 1992 NBA Finals for their second straight title.
Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears on Dec. 24, 1995
My dad surprised me with tickets to the Christmas Eve game and we had seats pretty close to the field in a corner of the end zone. The Bears needed a win that day and got it and rookie Rashaan Salaam broke the 1,000-yard barrier and seemed to be on the way to great things and we all know how that turned out ...
Chicago Bears Training Camp in Platteville, Wis.
My dad would take me three hours to the west to watch the Bears practice on the campus of UW-Platteville. Saw a lot of great players work to perfect their craft: Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, etc., and I'll always remember my dad helping us hunt for autographs. I managed to get signatures from Dave Wanstedt, Jim Flanigan, Paul Grasmanis, Steve Walsh. It was always a scrum to get position for the autographs so I always remember when I dropped my pen into the walkway that was fenced off for the players, forcing them to sign my program.
Penn State at Wisconsin on Nov. 21, 1998
My dad and I got a pair of obstructed view behind the Penn State bench, four rows behind the Penn State bench so your vantage point of the game was blocked a little bit, but the Badgers clinched a share of the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth with a 24-3 beatdown of the Nittany Lions.
WIAA Boy's State Basketball Tournament
For 12 straight years from fifth grade through college, my dad and I would play hooky and go to the Wisconsin High School State Basketball Tournament. I still remember going to the UW Field House in fifth grade and the place seemed so huge! And the tournament did not lose its mystique when it moved across campus to the Kohl Center. We aw a lot of great games, teams and players like Reese Gaines, Sam Okey, and Joe Thomas to name a few.
Beloit College Football Comebacks
My dad was an assistant on the coaching staff for the Buccaneers and the saying "We have them right where we want them ..." evolved from a joke among the team into a mantra that they actually believed in when they found themselves trailing.
Friday Night Lights
My dad would pick me up after school every Friday during the fall when I was in elementary and middle school and we go to practice at Beloit College then off to various high schools throughout the stateline area. Stops at Belvidere, Hononegah, Rockford Boylen, Beloit Memorial, Janesville's Monterey Stadium were common and a Frosty at Wendy's was sure to follow.
NBA Eastern Conference Finals: Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons, May 27, 1991
I was eight years old and really pumped up when watching the "Bad Boys", Detroit Pistons, walked out of Game 4 of the 1991 NBA Eastern Conference on the TV set on our porch. My dad always points to that as the moment when he knew that I understood what was going on.
- Mike
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