I grew up in a track and field family in a track and field state. Grandpa Milo’s cousin was a middle distance runner in the Rome and Tokyo Olympic games and held several American records. We lived very close to Eugene, Oregon, arguably the center of the world for track and field. I have seen world record’s broken on the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. Two of my favorites were when John Smith broke the world record in the 440 yard dash at an AAU National Track and Field Championships in the early 1970’s. As he walked back in front of the bleachers, John Smith lifted his arm to wave to the crowd. My cousin Neil and I appeared in the Oregonian newspaper the next day right under his armpit. We felt famous. Another favorite was when Dave Wottle ran in a mile race against Steve Prefontaine in a Twilight meet. It was a a highly emotional race that Wottle won with his signature kick at the end while the crowd went wild in a way that I have never seen at a track meet in any other place than Hayward field. I love watching a track meet more than any other type of sporting event. I think a lot of it has to do with where I grew up.
Still, when we moved to Klamath Falls, a small town in southern Oregon, my brother and I started going to baseball games. During the time we lived in Klamath, both the American Legion World Series and the Babe Ruth World Series were hosted there. For me, baseball is less about the game than it is about the chance (read excuse) to hang out with friends on a sunny afternoon, eat peanuts and talk about life. Some of my very best memories of times I spent with my big brother, Doug, were at those baseball games. We went to basketball and football games, too, but it was just not the same. It did not get much more satisfying than when we could talk Dad and Mom into running by the Artic Circle drive-in to pick up a bucket of chicken to eat at a night game under the lights at Kiger Stadium.
I think I got to reminiscing about this since we moved here to North Carolina. For the two years before we got here, my alma mater, Oregon State beat University of North Carolina for the NCAA Division I national championship in baseball. The coach at Oregon State is from my home town of Newberg and went to high school with one of my little sisters, so I feel like I have a little bit of a connection. This year, Christian and I went to watch UNC play against Florida State. It was just like I remembered. With the Olympics coming up juxtaposed and the baseball season in full swing, some great memories of my youth returned to mind.
April 13, 2004 (no. 1) – In the comments yesterday we discussed math facts. I was EXACTLY in the situation we discussed when I wrote this post!
April 13, 2004 (no. 2)