Our love for sports didn’t stop at baseball. My older son is a voracious soccer fan, and we regularly play FIFA together on the Nintendo Switch. He allows me to play as my favorite city team, Paris Saint-Germain, but he is loyal to the Liverpool Football Club. His love of football led us to watch the documentary Welcome To Wrexham, the series featuring the trials and tribulations of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s purchase of a struggling Welsh football club. I learned so much about the
game of football from the series, and we were all obsessed with the lives of the players and staff. Maybe it was the charming, quirky characters of the town. Maybe it was Rob and Ryan’s exasperated commitment that turned passion turned undying love. Maybe it’s the joy of watching my son’s confidence blossom on the pitch and hearing him laugh when we play FIFA and I somehow manage to score. Whatever it is, add two more teams to the list.
Reflecting on these connections,
I realize how deeply intertwined our lives have become with sports. I used to joke that I married into my love of the Cubs, but the truth is that riding along with my husband’s emotional rollercoaster relationship with the North Siders is part of what made me fall in love with him. His complete and utter joy after the World Series win in Cleveland, which he attended with his best friend, is an unparalleled moment that even our wedding and the birth of our kids just barely match. He’s a loving
husband and caring father
but not an effusive one.
Watching his enthusiasm
for his beloved Cubs in our
early days allowed me to
get a glimpse of the quietly
complex person I was
falling for. Those early days
at Wrigley were just the
beginning of our journey.
Now, as we sit in those
same season ticket seats
with our boys, I see the
same spark of love and
loyalty growing in them.
The crack of the bat, the
roar of the crowd, the joy of
sharing a win—these
moments bind us together,
weaving baseball into the
fabric of our family. I’m on
board for extra innings in
the life we’ve built
together, cherishing each
pitch and every play as part
of our ever-evolving love
story.
Lugnuts catcher Cole Conn and David Burt