Its all about the Jersey

Sometimes life sneaks up on you and you find yourself enthralled by something you hadn't expected. This week I'm unexpectedly enthralled by the jersey.

Sports jerseys are a fact of life for some families. They grew up playing on sports teams and the jerseys probably piled up on the floor of their closet. I didn't grow up playing sports. My childhood was filled with fun and friends and family, but the only sport I ever got to play was bowling. (Do you "play" bowling? It seems like you "go" bowling.) Sports just wasn't in playbook.

As I reached adulthood, I began to introduce myself to sports. I jogged a little. I rollerbladed a little. I wakeboarded a little. I skiied a little. I played a little ultimate frisbee at lunch with friends from work. It was all fun, but I didn't realize there was more to team sports than that.

And then I got invited to play on a co-ed softball team this summer. And I purchased a softball glove. And I purchased cleats. And I purchased gloves and pants. And then they handed me...a jersey. It's blue. It has MY number on it. It has MY team name on it. Its my first jersey. Yes, I know it is little more than a teeshirt with numbers ironed on...but it is a jersey to me.


I find myself smiling when I think of the jersey. I'm not even sure I know why. Does it represent the chance to make up for something I wish I had growing up? Am I thrilled to be part of a team? I'm not a very competitive person. I'm too busy worrying about how everyone else in the world is feeling to care about winning, although now I can worry about how MY team will feel if we don't win. Perhaps that will knock some competitive spirit into me.

Stay tuned for my next post...where we figure out if playing the game of softball is as fun as owning a jersey.