Two years ago, my daughter Vivian and I were standing in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Jacksonville waiting for the shuttle to take us to Ponte Vedra for the third round of The Players championship at TPC Sawgrass.
Standing behind us were two older ladies who seemed to be in awe of a father taking his daughter to a golf tournament.
“That is so sweet,” one of the ladies said. “Is this your first time going to a golf tournament?”
Vivian answered her quickly.
“No ma’am,” she said. “This is my second golf tournament. My daddy took me to the Masters three years ago.”
If you thought those older ladies were in awe to begin with, the look of their mouths dropping wide open after Vivian’s response was priceless.
Being a bonafide “girl dad,” is quite possibly the greatest joy of my life.
While I would gladly spend my weekends taking her to get her hair and nails done, or going to a concert of some kind, somehow I’m spared all the girly stuff.
For whatever reason, when Vivian and I go out on daddy-daughter dates, she wants to do things that I enjoy; which means sports.
We’ve been to Augusta and Sawgrass together, watched the Bulldogs from Sanford Stadium in Athens and the Eagles from Paulsen Stadium in Statesboro. We’ve even gone on the road together for bowl games.
Vivian is my travel partner and game watcher, and as Lou Gehrig once said, “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”
Last weekend, my wife was out of town for a beach trip with her best friend, and that felt like the perfect opportunity for another date day with my daughter.
“Vivian, how would you like to come to Athens with me on Saturday to watch the UGA baseball team play in the NCAA regional tournament?” I asked.
Her answer was a resounding yes.
So, we made the trek over to Foley Field to see the Dawgs take on UNC-Wilmington in the Athens regional.
Outside of a random high school game, this was Vivian’s first baseball experience in a big stadium. She wanted me to teach her the rules of baseball, and I took my role very seriously.
Georgia’s leadoff hitter, first baseman Corey Collins, crushed the first pitch he saw over the right field fence towards Kudzu Hill.
“That’s a home run,” I shouted.
I was going to explain to her what it actually meant when she said, “I know what a home run is daddy.”
Okay, my bad!
We had an absolute blast watching the Dawgs destroy UNC-Wilmington 11-2 to earn a spot in the regional final against Georgia Tech Sunday evening.
Vivian’s mother Renee returned home Sunday night about midway through the game against the Yellow Jackets.
Renee asked Vivian, “How about we go get pedicures next weekend?”
“Only if the Dawgs lose, mama,” Vivian said. “If they win, daddy and I are going to the super regionals.”
Much to the chagrin of Renee, and The Hartwell Sun’s sports editor and rabid Tech fan Benjamin London, the Dawgs beat the Jackets 8-6 in ten innings to advance to their first super regional since 2008. They will take on North Carolina State this weekend in a best of three series at Foley Field.
It’ll be another date with my favorite sports fan this weekend in Athens.
Vivian will soon turn 12 and enter the seventh grade this fall, and I know it won’t be long before going to sporting events with her old man will turn “cringy,” as the kids say.
But, for now, I thank God for every single second I get to spend with her watching sports.