Love of Sports...and Love

"I'm a big fan," proclaimed a decade-old promo for a network's
coverage of professional football. Whether it's the sheer violence of
football and hockey, the chess-like strategy of baseball and soccer, or
the pure athleticism of tennis and basketball, I follow sports
religiously. I am such a hardcore fan of sports that I made a career
out of it for a couple of years on public access television and want to
continue making a living in this profession.

For whatever reason, sports freaks like myself are stereotypically not
lovey-dovey when it comes to flowers and poetry and romance. We don't
react to a significant other the way we do to game-winning touchdowns
and walk-off homeruns. We don't confess our love for wives,
girlfriends, or best friends the way we do our fanaticism for Michael
Jordan, Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter. Sports fans don't stop to smell
the roses the way we take a timeout for the two-minute warning.

You are probably wondering, "What's wrong with you, Marty? Why are you
comparing roses to the Rose Bowl? Why aren't you talking about the
chances for a Mets-Yankees World Series in October? Why aren't you
talking S-P-O-R-T-S? Why are you writing about L-O-V-E?"

I guess you could say that I am in love. Yes, baseball is my passion,
but it's impossible to have a serious relationship with Sammy Sosa's
baseball bat. [eBay must be furious at me for that comment!] I enjoy
watching and commentating on annual sporting events like the Super
Bowl, the Daytona 500, and the Stanley Cup Finals; however, it pails in
comparison to being with the one I adore on holidays like Valentine's
Day, the Fourth of July, and Christmas.

I am writing about my best friend. It does not matter who she is or
what she does, but I will tell you anyway. The only thing that matters
is that there are more important things in life than just sports. I
appreciate receiving greeting cards and letters from her just as much
as an acrobatic lay-up from Latrell Spreewell. I enjoy sending a dozen
roses to my beloved the way I enjoy watching Mike Piazza slam 450-foot
homers. I get as excited about seeing her as I am about watching the
upcoming baseball season. But more importantly, I love my best friend
the same way I love sports.

I won't mention her name, either. She does not seek the spotlight the
way Roger Clemens aims for a seventh Cy Young Award. All I will say for
the record is that she was born in Ecuador, but has lived in New York
City since she was five. She speaks fluent English and Spanish and has
two jobs in the teaching profession. She is an English professor at a
public high school in the Big Apple on weekdays and also teaches
English to children of immigrants on weekends.

We first met in high school in 1986 (a great year for Mets fans!) and
knew each other for a couple of years. But on August 29, 1997, my life
was changed forever. That was the day we bumped into each other at a
college in the Bronx where she was going to grad school. It is the same
place as the public access TV station I used to work for. Six months
later, on President's Day 1998, we went out on our first date. Instead
of watching gold medal-winning performances from the Nagano Olympics,
we watched the award-winning movie Good Will Hunting.

I stated the obvious as to why I love sports. Here are the reasons why
I adore this Ecuadorian beauty. I have known this high school teacher
for nearly five years, and she is a beautiful woman in every way
imaginable. She is very smart, an honors student who graduated high
school at 16, and I already told you about her teaching credentials.
Her facial features make her slightly resemble Julia Roberts. She has
big, dark brown eyes, brown hair (or was it black, she seems to dye her
hair as often as Nolan Ryan striking out hitters throughout his Hall of
Fame career), and an angelic face that will forever keep me blushing.
She also has a body that would make Jennifer Lopez and every supermodel
that appeared in the recent Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue jealous.
But as much as I am attracted to her physically as well as
intellectually, the most beautiful part of my best friend's body is her
heart. I could go on about how caring she is and how much she loves
children, but words alone would not do her justice.

Sports talk show hosts ramble on about how athletes don't care about
the same fans that look up to them as role models. Just like sports,
there are aspects about the high school teacher that I am not
necessarily crazy about. As friendly as she is, I am not fond of her
quietness. She is perpetually on a diet. Other than pizza and coffee, I
have yet to see her eat or drink anything-not even water! Every now and
then she will have a tendency of forgetting things. But the most
glaring problem I have with my best friend, in my opinion, is her
tardiness. I do not pretend to be an angel in this department, but I
will not elaborate on one such instance in which she was three hours
late for a date.

I have to confess that we are not in a serious relationship. She is not
my girlfriend; I am not her boyfriend. We both have been unlucky in the
dating scene. I understand wholeheartedly why she would be hesitant
about having a relationship with me. Previous relationships ended
terribly for her for various reasons. I have had my share of dating
problems because women only see me as a friend. Admittedly, she only
sees me as a friend no matter what I say or do. All the flowers and
poetry and love letters she has received have yet to sway her into
taking a chance on me.

Since we are just friends and nothing more, I probably should continue
searching for that special someone who will make me happy. I want to
get married sometime soon and hope to be a father someday. I am still
an eligible bachelor! Why should I continue to go through all that
trouble with this lady?

Truth be told, I am head over feet in love with the Ecuadorian beauty.
I love and care for my best friend as if she was my wife. I adore her
despite her faults the same way I love sports despite the work
stoppages and the greedy owners and players and the athletes who find
themselves on the wrong side of the law. I am only human, and am
convinced that I do things that she doesn't like. I am certain that she
is not crazy about me talking too much about S-P-O-R-T-S!

Without her, I don't know what my life would be. I might have a great
career in sports broadcasting. I could be a multi-millionaire
announcing NFL or baseball games or golf tournaments or NASCAR races. I
could live an exciting life of covering the top sporting events from
around the globe like Wimbledon and World Cup soccer. But none of what
I might accomplish would mean a thing. All I know is that if I had
never met her on that humid August afternoon in 1997, I wouldn't have
came back to school and have gotten a college degree. I would not
continue to try to be kinder to my family. I would not be a nicer
person.

I never told anyone this, but I would trade my career in sportscasting
and the possible career advancements for a chance to live happily ever
after with this special woman. I would gladly miss any opportunities to
attend all the major sporting events around the world, and sacrifice
any and all chances at being a high-profile sports announcer or
columnist for her. If I had a choice of attending every single sporting
event for free for my entire career or spending the rest of my life
with the South American-born lady, I would choose the latter in a
heartbeat!

Don't get me wrong. I've always been a big sports fan and I always
will. I just happen to have my priorities straight. Even if my career
doesn't pan out as I hope it will, when I am with her, I feel like "the
luckiest man on the face of the earth", as a legendary Yankee would
say. I don't know if this story will have an impact on her one way or
another, but one thing is certain. She is the best thing to ever happen
to me and I thank God for having her in my life. This Ecuadorian beauty
may not be my girlfriend, but she is the most important person in my
life and I love her more than anything else in the world, including
S-P-O-R-T-S.