The person I have to talk about when I hear the word "sports," is my late Uncle Jay, my Mom's only sibling. Jay passed away on July 5th, 2014, at just 49 years young. He was born on January 11th, 1965 and was younger than my Mom by two years and three days.
(This is a picture of a picture, I enhanced it/cleared it up using Remini. It did a really nice job in my opinion.)
Jay was a sports aficionado. He could tell you just about every player on just about every team in just about every league. Jay particularly enjoyed football, baseball, and basketball. I'm not sure that he dabbled in much other sports like hockey or soccer, but, I wouldn't put it past him watching them.
Growing up, Jay and my Dad both played peewee league football and Jay played baseball all throughout school. Matter of fact, he was so good, he probably could have gotten a college scholarship to play baseball had he wanted it bad enough. Instead, he decided to go into the Air Force -- a big influence of that was his grades (he certainly wasn't an honors student) and because he had quite an attitude... he thought the Air Force would fix it and make him a better man. Maybe in a way it did... but in another way, it ruined his life.
I think baseball was Jay's favorite sport to play. He was a natural, honestly. Mom tells me back in elementary school, they had a hard time trying to get Uncle Jay to read. He just wasn't interested in reading Goosebumps or Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. When the teachers realized he had a knack for sports, they would let him read sports magazines or biographies on ball players. That tickled his fancy way more than anything else did.
Jay was your typical young boy in my opinion - he loved sports, he loved his family, he loved his friends, and having fun. Growing up, my Dad and he were best friends... long, long before I was ever even thought of, of course. I think it shocked them that they ended up brother-in-laws later on down the road.
Even on his darkest days, Jay hardly ever went without a smile. If he was feeling down - he could crack open a beer and watch a ballgame, and everything was right with the world again. Part of that was his downfall, though. The Air Force had molded him into an alcoholic, like it does many young men.. When he came home from overseas - he became a Sheriff's Deputy and trained the K9 dogs. Jay was magnificent with dogs... any animal really, but especially with dogs. That was his calling, aside from sports, in life.
A part of me likes to sit here and wonder what Jay's life could have turned out like if he'd have pursued sports instead of going into the Air Force. What if he had graduated with great grades and got a scholarship for baseball? Football? Basketball? What university would he have went to? Maybe he'd have went to Florida and played Gator baseball; or maybe Tennessee and been a Volunteer! I could see him now going on to play for the New York Yankees or maybe the Chicago Cubs, or even the St. Louis Cardinals!
Sometimes thinking about things like this... it breaks my heart that life didn't pan out that way for Uncle Jay. But then I stop and think that... maybe if he'd have been a professional ballplayer, he wouldn't have ever gotten married (twice) and had three children. Maybe my cousins wouldn't exist. Maybe I wouldn't have ever met Uncle Jay except on Christmas when he'd "finally break away from work" and "get to come home for a holiday dinner."
I also stop and think of how many times Jay escaped death in the Air Force, being stationed in South Dakota and the Philippines. I think of how many close calls he had as a Sheriff's Deputy and how he put his life on the line every single time he clocked into work.
So maybe life wouldn't have been much different, or maybe life would have been extremely different.. I don't know. I'm thankful Jay had 49 years on this Earth, but I sure wish he could have had 49 more. I miss talking football with my Uncle. He's the only person who never made fun of me for being a Miami Dolphins football fan. He'd always say -- "just tell them, 'my team is the only team to go undefeated to the Super bowl and WIN' if they make fun of you."
I realize this blog has maybe deviated a bit from the sports topic, and I really can't help that. I hope this blog gave you a bit of insight on my Uncle Jay though and his passion for sports... because man, was he passionate. I know he has a front row seat now to every ball game he wants to watch... but I sure wish he was still on our couch watching a game or two with us.
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