I Am Grieving Today

Today is April 6, 2020 day 23 of physical distancing, doing our part to flatten the curve. I go to work, I come home. On weekends, I come home Friday and don’t leave the house until Monday morning.  The highlight of the past week when I went to get meds from the pharmacy and found toilet paper on the shelf.  I felt like I had won the lottery.

I am grieving several things today. Today would have been the championship of college basketball. I would be at a bar with friends cheering and watching. Instead I am reliving great championship moments. The first championship I watched was 1979 final won by Kentucky over Duke. That day I became a Kentucky fan. I remember Michael Jordan’s game winning shot in 1982 for UNC over Georgetown. The 1985 perfect game upset Villanova over Georgetown. 1983 NCST upset over Houston with Jim Valvano running all over the court looking for someone to hug. 1990 UNLV annihilate Duke 102-73 largest margin of Victory. 1996 Kentucky 36-2 the Untouchables start of 3 straight title game appearances. Lost in 1997 to Arizona and beat Utah in 1998. Who can forget Gordon Hayward half court heave that bounced out or else Butler would have won over Duke in 2010. Sadly this year no tournament.

I am also grieving today on the 2nd anniversary of the Humboldt Bus Crash which took 16 lives and touched the fabric of Canada deeply. Almost everyone could relate to riding the buses for games, camps, music festivals, dance recitals and on and on. I hurt badly that day and for the days that came afterwards. I was numb. Couldn’t move from my home for days. I wept and remembered the bus rides I took for basketball, soccer, rugby and hockey games across the prairies. In small towns the local junior hockey teams were revered. They became the soul and heartbeat of the town. The players were stars. The tragedy galvanized the country, within hours a Go Fund Me page was set up and raised over $16 million. It was dispersed to all the families affected. Hockey sticks were left out on porch’s for the boys. Everyone in Canada was affected by the tragedy and still are.

I am grieving today missing sports on a daily basis. Watching games live or on TV, following the scores, read stories and do sports wagering. Hockey, basketball playoffs would be starting, Soccer seasons winding down and gearing up. Spring is a busy sports time and I miss it. 3 Hall of Farmers died this weekend. Al Kaline played all 22 years with Detroit Tigers, 10 Gold Gloves over 3,000 hits.
Bobby Mitchell halfback Cleveland Browns and was first black player in Washington Football history. Was VP of football operations after career ended and was passed over for GM because of his colour. He spent post football career championing equally throughout the DC community. Tom Dempsey born with no right toes had a great career as a place kicker for New Orleans Saints. Had a special shoe. Kicked straight on and held the record for longest field goal in NFL at 63 yards in 1970 until it was surpassed in 2013.

Keep safe, physical distancing and stay home. We will come through this better and stronger.