All of this fine counseling aside, I have my own thoughts on this one, and believe that there is no harm in sharing a good Giants or Rangers game with your daughter. If there is one thing that we share together each week without fail, it is our weekly sporting event. For Siena and I, curling up on the couch together to root for a team dressed in Blue is important. It is quality daddy and daughter time.
Yes, Siena is enthralled by bright colors that move fast. So, these are the right sports for her. She is a hard core fan at 4 and half months of age. She wears team apparel and I am pretty sure blue will be her favorite color. She has become a well schooled fan; she realizes it is important to cry out when the opposing team has the ball so their quarterback (and daddy) cannot hear. She knows how to signal for a touchdown and practices it all night long while she sleeps. She knows that Marion Gaborik leads the NHL in goals and I think I heard her chanting Henrik, Henrik, Henrik after a big save.
Given all this, it was especially important to me that I get Siena to a Rangers game as soon as possible. I always schedule our trip home at Christmas when the Rangers are in town and this year was no different. The Rangers versus the Sabres, December 12, 2009, Siena’s first game. Good seats so she could actually see the players and between periods I could tell her about the banners in the rafters. She’ll never remember it and I will never forget it. Sharing this with Lisa and Siena was easily the highlight of my trip to NY this year (no offense intended to all of the family we saw during the visit).
Her little eyes lit up when we entered the Garden and except for the early part of the third period she was wide awake and watching (yes, it has been a little quiet in the Garden in the third period this season, good for sleeping, I warned her about that). Look in her eyes in the pictures, she is focused.
To make sure she can grow up a true blue Ranger fan, the team managed to indoctrinate her with a loss, but if they can keep on the one Stanley Cup every forty years pace, she will see them win at age 25. No matter how the game goes, having Siena sitting on my lap and clapping along with the Let’s Go Rangers chant (with a little help from dad) was truly special.
I can’t wait to take my girls to a game again. Being there with Lisa and Siena made the final score irrelevant and the memories priceless.
