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Sports fans, what are your earliest sports/athletic memories?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Borla, Jun 10, 2017.

  1. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    The other day when the NBA Finals started I got to thinking about the first NBA Finals that I remember watching. It was 1984, when the Celtics beat the Lakers in seven games. Even though I was not quite 6 years old, I remember Game Seven pretty clearly. My parents were out of town for several days for some reason (should ask them if they remember why, I don't recall). A couple that they were friends with stayed at our house with my sister and I to watch us. I remember this because my dad's friend (Kent) was a die-hard Celtics fan. Neither of my parents were big sports fans when I was little. I can remember my dad occasionally watching a big game, and in the 90s when Jordan's Bulls were dominant we watched almost every game as a family. But other than that I was always far more interested in sports than my parents. So that particular NBA series stuck out to me, because it was the first time I can remember a grown man watching a game on TV and responding with such incredible enthusiasm and excitement. Kent had his Celtics shirt on and would jump and clap and yell when the Celtics made a good play. He would clench his fist and smack his forehead when they did something bad, or the Lakers made a push. I remember his reactions far more than the game.

    Anyway, his Celtics went on to win the Championship and I can remember how excited he was, with no one to share it with but 5yr old Borla, lol. Over the following few years I too began watching a lot of sports, especially the NBA. I remember the Bulls and Celtics in the playoffs, when Jordan scored 63pts in a game and the Bulls were still swept. Though I don't have the time or desire to watch a ton of games anymore, the NBA is probably the sport I'm still the most passionate about.

    The first Super Bowl I remember watching was Super Bowl XX when the Bears beat the Patriots. I remember we were at someone's house that night for dinner and the game. A little over 10yrs later the daughter of the couple whose house we were at married my uncle.

    I also remember my first MLB game, when I was about 10. We lived in central IL and drove up to Chicago for a Cubs and Pirates game at Wrigley. We were late to the game because my parents underestimated the time it would take, not to get to Chicago, but to get all the way to the north end of Chicago! Our seats ended up being in the very last row of the upper deck, behind home plate.

    As far as playing sports, I remember wiffle ball in the back yard at 5-6 years old, having a basketball hoop at about the same age, and until I was 9 yrs old we lived one house down from a small park with a tennis court, so we played a lot of tennis. The court had a wall against the back of it that had a line at the height of the net, and it was designed to let you volley back and forth alone if you wanted. I can remember begging to go over there to smack tennis balls against the wall for what felt like hours. Though I played some tennis off and on until I was 12-14 years old, I honestly don't think I've even picked up a racket in over 20 years.

    Anyway, though this all started with some NBA reminiscing, I thought it might be interesting to hear from some fellow TFPers.

    What is the first sporting event or events you remember watching, listening to, or attending? What sports do you remember playing first? Do you think any of those memories impact the sports you like to play or watch today?
     
  2. POPEYE

    POPEYE Very Tilted

    Location:
    Tulsa
    I don't remember the details, just remember watching the Cowboys, my Dads favorite NFL team. My first experience was soccer and I was quite good.
     
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  3. I don't remember specifics either, but I do remember sitting in the family room watching baseball with my dad or football with my mom. The 1990 World Series stood out to me most because the Reds, my hometown team basically, swept the Oakland Athletics. My family were big Reds fans so I remember watching every game.

    Sports were always on in our house. Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey...even Nascar and Wresting. It's who we were. My brothers traded baseball cards and collected Starting Lineup figurines. We went to football and baseball games as a family. My brothers and I all three played sports through high school and I through college and beyond. My dad was actually sought after to play professional baseball. I never got the story as to why he never pitched in the major leagues. He told me he wanted to have a family, but I think he was just saying that to be nice. He was an amazing pitcher.

    If a game wasn't on the television....a western was on.

    Good times.
     
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  4. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member


    The first World Series I remember watching was in 1984 when the Tigers won. Where I lived growing up was split between Cubs and Cardinals fans, and I really wasn't a fan of anyone. In the late 80s I rooted for the A's. I remember watching TV during the start of Game 3 in 1989 when the earthquake hit SF during the pregame. I also remember watching the A's get swept the next year. :mad:
     
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  5. GO REDS!
     
  6. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    The first I remember is baseball. When I was young, like four or five, and my dad played on an adult small town team sponsored by the American Legion. I remember the old bleachers, and just running around behind and under (insert Seymour Butts jokes here) the bleachers/stands. As I got older I got to understand the game better and paid more attention. Dad was a catcher -- mostly -- and his knees finally gave out. My mom was the big TV sports watcher in my family, even watching golf! I would rather watch something with more action, like growing corn or paint drying.:rolleyes: I took more after my dad, and baseball is the only pro sport I pay much attention to. I love the lore and traditions of baseball! NFL and NBA are all johnnie-come-lately as far as I'm concerned. I've enjoyed visiting the museum in Cooperstown, and also the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, and will maybe get to a College World Series game this week in Omaha.

    I enjoy following college football. Kind of unavoidable here in Huskerville. A Big Red home game is an amazing experience. Women's Volleyball is also a big deal here in Lincoln. The girls regularly draw over 8,000 fans every game.

    I played soccer in middle school & up through 10th grade. One of the few sports where being agile can count for as much as size and strength.
     
  7. Fremen

    Fremen Allright, who stole my mustache?

    Location:
    E. Texas
    My earliest sports memory, or impression, was watching wrestling on tv with my brother and dad on Saturday nights. The Von Erichs ruled back then and we didn't miss a Saturday. After watching the show, my brother and I would pick a name and square off in the livingroom while my dad refereed.
    Later on, we even got to see Kevin Von Erich wrestle in person when he came to our small town bouts. Unfortunately, that family is one big tragedy.

    Another sports memory(ies) was watching the Cowboys back in Roger Staubach's heyday, and then Danny White when he took over as quarterback.
    My brother and I used to pretend we were Staubach and White when we tossed the ball to each other. I always picked Danny because of my name.

    When I started playing sports on a team, I first played tee-ball. It was pretty fun, but the most fun was going to either Sonic or Dairy Queen as a team and getting root beers if we won.
    Couple of years later we started playing Pee-wee basketball. I remember my team's name, The Bullets. I don't remember my brother's team name, but we hated them!

    After my dad died, I pretty much lost interest in sports for a good many years.
     
  8. ralphie250

    ralphie250 Fully Erect Donor

    Location:
    At work..
    I remember when I was about 5 ort so my dad and granddad taking me to a braves game. I remember watching dale murphy hit a home run
     
  9. redux

    redux Very Tilted

    Location:
    Foggy Bottom
    I was 5 yrs old at game 4 of the 1966 World Series when the Orioles swept the Dodgers. They beat both Don Drysdale (twice) and Sandy Koufax, once with an 18 yr rookie, Jim Palmer. Frank Robinson was MVP; Brooks Robinson and Boog Powell made up the big three.

    Then, in 1976, I wanted to be like long John Naber who set records in 100m and 200m backstroke at the Montreal Olympics. My swimming career peaked at 17.
     
  10. Ryanfuego

    Ryanfuego New Member

    Location:
    73159
    When I was 8 started to play tennis, after 2 years of hard training won first tournament. Yeah then there were some difficulties with my arm and while turning 19 I just was not able to play it normally because of trauma in final.

    Nowadays its only a hobby for me, but all childhood I spent on the tennis courts.
     
  11. CinnamonGirl

    CinnamonGirl The Cheat is GROUNDED!

    My earliest sports memories are of high school games... my aunt cheered during football season (and Cris Carter played at her high school), and...maybe during basketball season, too? I remember going to basketball games with my dad, but I don't remember why or much about them. Pretty sure I was in the newspaper at a very young age, watching Middie basketball.

    Professional-wise, we went to Reds games aaaall the time. My parents had season tickets (in the green seats!) for years. And while it isn't the earliest, I remember wearing my Bengals cheerleader Halloween costume for three Halloweens in a row, AND whenever a Bengals game was on...I was definitely wearing it '89 when the Bengals lost to the 49ers in the Super Bowl. My aunt had moved to California the summer before that, and I remember her calling my dad to tease him about it.

    As for playing, I think I was 4? when I first started playing tee-ball. Ragball, rather, because we were so little. I was by far the tiniest kid on the team (I'll have to see if I can find pictures, it's pretty ridiculous), and I remember loving to run bases........and do cartwheels in the outfield. Heh.

    Oh! And my grandpa was really into NASCAR back when Richard Petty raced. We went to Florida one year, I must have been three or four, and we stopped at Daytona. I don't think we went to see the race, but I remember Petty's car was on display, and my mom & I had our picture taken there (the way-more memorable thing for me on that trip was the skyride that went out over the ocean; I was terrified that I'd slip out and a shark would eat me.)
     
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  12. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Probably attending one of my mom's soccer games (she was very active in a soccer league for adult women when I was growing up--she was awesome), or a football game at my dad's high school. It's a little fuzzy. Both happened when I was 3ish. I grew up going to both, and my mom also played indoor, so until I was in school full-time, I also went to indoor games twice a week. I started playing soccer and basketball when I was 5, softball at 7, and lacrosse at 14. I only played sports intramurally in college--mostly softball and ultimate frisbee.

    I also grew up watching the Huskies, Seahawks, Sonics, and Mariners on television. My dad watched CNN Sports Tonight every night, so I often watched it with him. My brother watched SportsCenter every morning, so we watched that, too. My grandpa played semi-pro soccer in the Netherlands, so we watched soccer whenever we could. I remember trekking to a brewpub in downtown Portland to watch the Euros in 1996 with Grandpa and my mom. In 2000, I had the great fortune to be in the Netherlands when the Euros were hosted there, and that was quite the experience. I didn't get to go to a game, but just being in the country--especially when the Netherlands was doing so well--was incredible. After France won, we missed the huge party on the Champs Elysees by twelve hours.

    Growing up, I only attended a couple of Sonics games and a couple of Ms games; we lived pretty far out of the city, and going to games was a pain. When I decided I was going to go to Oregon State, I started watching the Beavers. I went to my first college game as a freshman, and it was amazing! It was hard to convince my husband to start going to games, but now he's super into it. We now try to go to every football game we can--we go back and forth between season tickets and not, as it's usually easy for us to pick up tickets when we want them for free or cheap. We also go to a few Trail Blazers games every year, as I am a huge Blazers fan. It took me some time to give up the ghost where the Sonics were concerned, but I finally managed thanks to Brandon Roy.

    And yes, my experience growing up in a sports-loving household with two athletic parents absolutely impacted what I love now. My in-laws are outdoorsy-athletic, not athletic-athletic, and my husband grew up with a very different experience. The only sports team he had an allegiance to was the Beavers. Now he follows the Packers closely, along with the Trail Blazers. :)
     
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  13. CinnamonGirl

    CinnamonGirl The Cheat is GROUNDED!


    So, hey, I found it. Apologies for the quality, it's a cell phone picture of a newpaper from 1983.


    [​IMG]
     
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