There are a million blessings I’ve been given in this life, but one of the best is to have a son that loves sports more than I do.
He’ll wake up and watch the YouTube recap of last night’s games. First thing he does when he gets home from school, weather permitting, is go to our backyard to throw a ball against a bounce back net or kick the ball around. He tracks stats and collects baseball cards. And the last thing he does before bed is watch whatever live sport he can find.
Again, just the epitome of what a sports crazed dad would want in a child.
The only thing we really don’t do much of is go to live games. Living near Cleveland, he has the misfortune of being given my fandoms, which are primarily Chicago based, with some Marquette thrown in. Which is what made the NCAA Tournament draw into Columbus last season, just 90 minutes from us so incredibly exciting.
For the first time in my adult life, I’d get to see Marquette in person with someone who probably took the result more personally than I would. And boy did it live up to the expectations.
Not only were we able to see it together, we got to see Marquette break the retched NCAA winless streak. He was high fiving strangers next to us all through Kam’s 2nd half run, yelling himself hoarse and telling me to stand up.
My wife had given him some money to buy a souvenir and on the drive home, with the money he had left over, he asked if we could pick up milkshakes for our family to celebrate like the team.
Like I said, the kid lives and breaths Marquette.
But what does any of this have to do with the upcoming season?
I meant to write up this experience back in March, the Saturday after the game and before Marquette’s tilt against Michigan State, while it was still fresh and the clicks were still pouring in. I never wanted to forget the pride and elation I felt. The bond we were able to elevate to another level.
But as commonly happens, I started thinking about the next game and life got in the way and ultimately I wasn’t able to finish the column, forever haunting me in the retched Drafts folder.
That Sunday, I was fortunate enough to get to make the drive back down to Columbus again, though this time alone. Obviously the result sucked. All creative energy was drained from my mind for the next month. And the column that would have been a heartwarming memory on Sunday morning turned into a bitter reminder of how fleeting joy lasts in March.
I never finished the column and now trying to call back on that special time, I forgot a lot of the little details.
Again, why am I writing all of this on the eve of one of the most anticipated seasons in Marquette history?
If Ticketmaster is to be believed, we will see multiple sellouts this season and record crowds all year long.
If the betting markets are to be believed, Marquette is the odds on favorite to win the Big East.
If the humans and computers that rank teams in the preseason are to be believed, Marquette is in the uber elite tier that have a good chance of winning the national title.
Heck, both Shaka Smart and his players have leaned into those expectations and themselves told reporters the goal is to play in the national championship on Shaka’s birthday.
If you weren’t around for the Al years, which I definitely wasn’t, it’s a bit surreal to be living in this much hype and not have it be blind homerism driving the expectations. But as Shaka so eloquently put it, what else would you want?
One last time, why am I writing all of this?
Once the ball tips and the results start rolling in, we won’t be talking in flowery, poetic language. We’ll be living in each possession, hyper-analyzing individual moments and generally yelling at players, refs and TVs. This moment right here, where the excitement is at fever pitch and hope is at its highest won’t last.
And that’s the point.
Last March, I didn’t fully embrace the win over Vermont, as my attention went directly to Michigan State. As a result of not living directly in the moment, and looking ahead instead, I lost a bit of what was one of the most special days I’ve had as a parent.
Learn from my mistakes. Savor this season. Sure there’s a chance Marquette underachieves and all we’re left with are letdowns and what could have beens. But waiting for that shoe to drop, or regression to hit, is a terrible way to attack this season.
As Shaka so eloquently said, “there’s going to be ups and downs and twists and turns, but there’s no place I’d rather be.”
The nerd in me will tell you that odds are that we’ll be sorely disappointed come March. Marquette will have fewer wins than last season, a worse seed and most likely won’t be lifting the program’s 2nd national title. But sports fandom is built off of irrational premises.
We aren’t guaranteed to get seasons like this again with players we have invested in for multiple years now and a coach that embodies the soul of the school. These are the good days.
So I’ll tell you to listen to my son instead, who’s last words before going to bed Sunday night were “go Marquette.”
It really is that simple.
Paint Touches 
Great post. Thank you for sharing the experience with your son. Brought back some great memories of taking my sons to Marquette Madness and games when they were little.
Also, thank you for all of the great work Paint Touches does to enhance many MU fans’ knowledge and enjoyment of the program!