Hook, Line and Sinker
By Tony Hooker
MVP! MVP! MVP!
Every team has them, no matter what the level of competition. They’re the straw that stirs the drink. The yin to the yang. The Ice to the Cube. The rock. The foundation. The organizer. The boss.
Who am I talking about? Raise your hand if you guessed the mamas.
As has become my tradition, I always dedicate this edition of my column to the moms.
Moms are the coolest. Many of them work 8-5 and still manage to never miss an at bat, let alone a game. They often do this while wrasslin’ with other offspring to, from and at the game. They somehow make it to multiple games on the same day and do it with ease.
Moms are the coolest. They juggle kids’ activities schedules like they’ve got a Master’s degree in Logistics. They have complete conversations with the other moms while knowing everything that’s happening on the field of play. Moms can have no knowledge of the sport they’re watching, but they have an innate sense for when their child has done something good.
Moms are the coolest. They are able to cobble together awesome meals for their families as though they’d spent a year or two at the Culinary Institute of America, even when they’re ballin’ on a budget and when the game didn’t get over until after nine pm. At a ballpark that’s 20 miles from home. On a school night.
Moms are the coolest. They can somehow get home at 10 o’clock at night, make sure that everyone’s homework is done, whip up one of the aforementioned meals and be able to get grass, dirt and blood stains out of a pair of ball pants in time for the next night’s game. Mama Hook, Line and Sinker has been a den mother, a soccer league president and so much more. She’s bought and sold more shirts than a Hong Kong haberdasher. She’s sold enough candy and cookies to give an elephant a sugar buzz. And she’s not alone. Moms everywhere go through the same rituals to support their kids and their activities.
Moms are the coolest. They trudge around golf courses in the rain, just to let their kid know they’re there. They sit in boiling heat, driving thunderstorms, ice storms and blizzards. And that’s just during football season. They sit in muted silence while their kids answer scholastic bowl questions or perform solos in band and chorus, all the while bursting with pride, internally.
Moms are the coolest. They sit in crowded gyms for 10 hours just to watch their daughter do a two-minute hip hop dance routine. After driving two and half hours south to a town they’ve never heard of, and then they drive home and get ready to do it again the next week. They move heaven and earth to make sure that their kids have the best gear possible, all while wearing last year’s fashions.
Moms are the coolest. They do all of these things and so much more, without complaint or expectation of appreciation. Sure, some of those amazing meals are served in something that strongly resembles a pizza box or Mexican carryout, but those and everything else they do is served with a big side helping of love. Thank you to my mama for taking care of me for five and a half decades. Thanks to my kids’ mama, whose had the unenviable task of raising me, along with our kids, for the past 28 years. Finally, thanks to all the mamas out there. You’re the ties that bind, my friends, and I hope you had an amazing Mother’s Day.