Take One For The Team By Joshua Roque

"Sports is human life in microcosm." -Howard Cosell

I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't into sports.  If the Seattle Times delivered just the Sports page every morning, I'd be happy.  I remember an old quote that said if you grabbed a newspaper: skip directly to the Sports page because it lists accomplishments - and avoid the front page that lists our failures.  Sports has always played an important role in my life, and helped shape the person I am today.  Competitiveness, teamwork, camaraderie, social skills, exercise, respect - all of the great things that I picked up from my playing days.  Of course, none of it would've been possible without the time and sacrifices my parents made for my brother and I.  All of the car trips to tournaments around the state, shuttling us back-and-forth from practices, and most of all - all of the money they spent on fees, uniforms, and SHOES.

Man, we were spoiled.  Every time a new Air Jordan shoe would come out, I practically begged my parents for it.  I wouldn't accept wearing generic basketball shoes from Payless because I thought they were ugly and unpopular.  I was such a poser back then (and many will agree that I still am).  But there was my parents - waiting with me as I tried on another pair of $100 Air Jordans that (in my mind) perfectly accentuated my ham hock legs and cankles.  God Bless them for being able to sit through game-after-game and watch their beefy son cherry pick underneath the basket (all game long) but never shoot the ball because he was afraid to.  I remember watching old home videos of those games with my dad, having him beg me to shoot more, and how mad I used to get.  It makes me laugh just thinking about it now and I'll always love him for that.

Which sport will Brandon choose?  Will it be baseball?  Will it be basketball like his dad?  Maybe even golf like his grandpa?  Hell, become a good billiards/pool player and win your parents some money - Filipinos are good at pool, right?  Whatever it is, he'll have full support from his parents and everyone around him.  We'll encourage Brandon to give it his all at any sport he chooses but more importantly, have fun through all of the ups and downs.  My advice to him would be to play every sport; see which one you enjoy the most.  And best of all, he'll have instant friends from the various sports teams he'll play with.

But don't think for a second that Brandon won't have those new Air Jordans on.