SIGNATURE MOMENTS

The Golden State Warriors don't know this, but that text from my Mom may have won them Game 5. If you read my previous post, you know that at this point in the Playoffs, everything matters. Where you watch, what you wear Butterfly Effects it's way to how the Warriors play, and I had a decision to make as to where I was going to watch Game 5. My Mom had invited us to watch at their house, and I was going back and forth with her on whether or not we would watch with them. She half jokingly sent me that text, but that text changed everything. It made me stop and think about the history of basketball in my life and how the game has connected me and my Dad.You see, my Dad wasn't much of a basketball fan until after I was born. He was more of a football and baseball kind of guy. For some reason, I took to basketball as a kid and only wanted to play basketball growing up. So because I liked basketball, my Dad liked basketball. I started to think, and I started to remember things.I remembered my Dad taking me to my first Warriors game. The Warriors beat the Kings 120-117 and Chris Mullin had a bagillion points. At least that's how I remembered it. I remembered how in the 4th grade, my CYO team didn't have a coach, and even though he didn't know much about basketball, my Dad volunteered to coach us. He checked out books from the library on coaching basketball. How to run the Flex offense and how to run a full court press defense. He dealt with parents complaining that he didn't play their kids enough and that he was playing his own son too much, even though it was obvious I was better than everyone else. And I'm not bragging. We were 1-9 his first year coaching us, so being the best player on a 1-9 team isn't saying much. But I remembered that one win that we did have. It came the last game of the season and we celebrated like we won the Championship. I think we won by 1 point. I remembered seeing my Dad jump higher than I've ever seen him jump after the final buzzer sounded because we had actually won! I remembered him buying me John Wooden VHS tapes because he wanted me to learn to shoot the right way. Elbow in. I remembered him always reminding me to get more arc on my shot because it gives the ball the best chance to go in. I remembered him constantly urging me to be more aggressive. I remembered him promising me $10 if I could make 10 straight free throws... and him following through on that promise.I can't remember him ever missing any of my games, from the 3rd grade through my Senior year of high school. Before Game 5 a reporter asked Stephen Curry what was his signature moment in this Series. I think if the Warriors go on to win the Championship, him going off for a barrage of 3's in the 4th quarter is his obvious signature moment. I'm thankful my Mom sent me that text, because it caused me to look back at every signature moment I've had with the game of basketball. It turns out my Dad was there for every one of them. So it was an easy decision. Watch Game 5 with my Dad - one more signature moment.- FATKID