Life of a Sports Lover.

Well, at this point we all know how the World Series ended up. For the Rangers, it was another unhappy ending. It's so unfortunate too, because (insert obvious bias here) it just seemed like it was fate, that this team was the most deserving and that THIS was definitely our year. But, if there's one thing I've learned in my 29 years, it's that things don't always pan out the way we expect them to, especially when it comes to sports.

Sadly, for my family, it seems that there is a certain Comfort Curse that we've been dealing with for almost 15 years when it comes to the "big game." To some it may seem to be just one of those sports superstitions, but it definitely has some merit. It all started with my dad's undefeated Lobos losing the 5A football state championship game in '97. Then in 2000, after going undefeated in volleyball, my ridiculously amazing high school team lost in the 4A state finals as well. Freakin 40-0. It still hurts. The next year, my sister Chelsea's volleyball team lost at state. Three years ago, while Chelsea was Dad's assistant softball coach at Spring Hill, they too lost at state. Coincidence? Dumb luck? Hmm. At this point, I don't know.

So I blame my brother. He's the biggest Rangers fan I know, and he's the one whose best friend Kyle Tittle BROUGHT UP the Comfort Curse after Game 6 of the World Series. It was Ryan's turn for this curse to bite. Two years in a row. Now, apparently, it's not only the teams we are directly involved with, but the teams we support too??? Yikes. In that case, there is only one team that has persevered through the Comfort Curse. My LSU Tigers have won the national championship TWICE since I attended the great university, and once I was even there to see it! So, that makes me feel at least a little bit better. A little bit.

Speaking of my Tigers, today was the first Friday of the school year that I didn't wear a Rangers shirt with my jeans (ah, sad face.). I did, however, sport maximum LSU gear for the big #1 v. #2 game tomorrow. My kids were impressed. They feel that I have moved on from the Rangers loss amazingly well, considering that they had to hear me talk about the Rangers on a daily basis during the first two and a half months of school. So when I show up in full LSU mode today, they wondered exactly how I'd be able to handle a loss to Bama this weekend. My obvious response "not gonna happen" was followed by the question, "But what if it does?" Dang kids. My response to this? "You may see your teacher on the news while someone tries to talk me off a ledge." Bad joke to tell to 7th graders. They don't understand sports-obsessed females nor do they get adult humor. My bad. I had to go on record saying "PLEASE DO NOT GO HOME AND TELL YOUR PARENTS THAT YOUR HISTORY TEACHER IS ON A SPORTS-INDUCED SUICIDE WATCH!" eh. it happens.

It may not be the best idea for me to be putting this information about the Curse out in the universe. Sure will not help me find another coaching job should I decide to leave Aledo...or should Aledo fire me after reading this. However, I feel it is time that the Internet world is made aware of our unfortunate family's success-sucking curse so that maybe, just maybe, the curse can move on and haunt some other poor poor family. We just want to win damnit!

So there it is people, the big family secret. The sad world where our teams just can't seem to win when it really counts. It's up to you, LSU, to make sure that this bloody curse does not hold true for all teams that my family cares about. Especially coming on the heels of the World Series. This chick can't take two trips to the L column in a week's time! We've also decided to take a proactive approach and we got season tickets for the Rangers games next year. If it takes us being even more psycho-supportive than ever to try to break this curse, well then that's precisely what we're going to do. Everyone say a little prayer that it doesn't backfire. I'd never forgive myself! ;)

It's hard for me to imagine people who don't like sports. What do they blog about??

Live.Laugh.Rangers

You guys knew it was coming. Like I could go this entire World Series without blogging about my beloved Rangers! Life has been beyond crazy lately, so blogging hasn't been on the top of my priority list. I could not, however, let this amazing season come to an end without putting my two cents in a blog. So here goes!

I love my Rangers. They have made my life better since moving to Fort Worth. Once I graduated from LSU and moved back to Texas, there was a gaping hole in my life. It was a void that I dealt with due to the lack of being able to watch my precious Tigers on Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium. There's not much like college football, but the Rangers have given me something to get excited about again. Something to look forward to every weekend (or weekday) that they're in town from April to October. I've been a Rangers fan since I was little. That was part of our summer "vacations" (come on guys, a coach's salary doesn't take three kids on worldly vacations every year!), and we loved it. Six Flags and the Rangers games. My family is so sports-obsessed that I don't even know if we realized that it was abnormal to choose the Ballpark over the beach. The past couple of years have put an exclamation mark on my childhood...to be able to see Rangers make history has been nothing short of phenomenal. I love true TEAM sports. I chalk it up to my up-bringing. More specifically, my dad that has worked so hard his entire career trying to show kids that being a selfless, committed athlete is second to nothing else. He showed me how sports that involve multiple people working together for a common goal is so special. The Rangers have shown the somewhat uptight and high-strung baseball world that you don't need ONE standout player, that having FUN and playing like you're just kids at a little league ballpark is actually okay. The hand signs and the pre-game laughs, the post game shaving cream pie-faces, and the enthusiastic energy of Ron Washington illustrate the bond that this team has that is unlike any other. Simply put, it's just fun to be a fan. Some call me obsessed, and that's probably true, but I don't care. I love it.

Now down to some serious baseball talk, how about Derek Holland? Wait, I said serious. There's not a lot about that guy that I can take seriously. The pre-pubescent trash stache is about the most amazing thing I've ever seen. His voices and impersonations are hilarious. He's got Harry Caray down PAT, and his Arnold Schwartzenegger is classic. But when it's time to get down to baseball, his performance on Sunday was freaking perfection, and we were there to see every pitch. People are bashing him today for not being serious enough during the game last night, but oh my geez people give the guy a break! It's his personality to behave the way he did on air last night, and it's been the mantra for the Rangers the past several years to NOT take everything so seriously and to just play ball. They feed off the personality of their manager. They are passionate and fun-loving and that's why the DFW metroplex and the rest of Texas have fallen in love with this team. Get off Holland's back; he was giving the people what they want! And just to reiterate my point about the awesomeness that is his stache...

I mean seriously, how could you not love that guy? It's taken him like 3 months to grow that unfortunate caterpillar on his top lip. I dig it.

Few more things about Ron Washington. 1.) So glad he accepts responsibility for his mistakes and holds himself and his team accountable. 2.) His excitement is contagious and his moves are to die for. If you don't understand my love for Ron Washington, the most animated manager of all time...you've gotta watch this video. Enjoy!

The Ron Washington DANCE.

And PS, I miss the Ron Washington kid from last year! BEST COSTUME EVER.

Moving on. Some things to note before the end of this blog.

1. Andrus & Kinsler are an awesome combo up the middle.

2. Nelly Cruz in the ALCS was one of the most clutch performances by an athlete I've ever seen.

3. I love Josh Hamilton. Yes, still.

4. Beltre was totally worth the money.

5. Can't go wrong with our outfield no matter who is out there defensively...but Murphy is a key to this team...offensively and defensively.

6. Mitch Moreland's homerun last night was WOW.

7. Bullpen. Nuff said.

8. Feliz...6-0.

9. I.like.Mike. Best.Leader.EVER.

10. It truly is Naptober. The year of the Napoli. NAP-O-LI M-V-P!!!

I know I'm all over the place with this blog. And I know that my brother will surely come at me with his superior baseball knowledge and tell me that some of this stuff is wrong and blah blah...but I'm a girl and I don't keep up with stats. I have, however, watched more MLB network the past two weeks than I ever imagined possible, but I still call 'em like I see 'em. That being said, boys will continue to inform me of every answer to every sports question I could ever have, and the girls can just read my blog and enjoy a laugh! :)

BRING THE CHAMPIONSHIP HOME TO US BOYS!!!!!!!!!

Finding Strength

When life takes an unexpected turn, moments of pure normalcy soon find themselves few and far between. In many of my previous blogs, it almost seems as if I am complaining because our lives have been somewhat monotonous and unexciting lately. Even more than me, I know Milesy would love to go back to a completely normal day last week, where it was a typical day at work, maybe an evening softball game, and a call from his best friend. Unfortunately in life, things happen that we have no control over, and things can change in an instant.

For those of you who don't know my Milesy very well, one thing about him (apart from the obvious fact that he is amazing) is that he is an avid hunter and outdoorsman. I have been on his ass on more than one occassion about not being a passionate person, but I didn't stop to think about the fact that maybe he was just passionate about something that I didn't quite understand. It has taken a horrific tragedy to make me realize that I have all but completely ignored an enormous part of his life because it's not something I cared about, understood, or had a place in. He had someone else for that.

Miles lost his best friend this weekend. Cody Allen Burns wasn't just his best friend, he was his cousin, his confidante, his hunting partner. They shared a middle name and a common bond. They were like brothers. They had such an amazing friendship that at times I found myself acting like a jealous outsider because it seemed as if Cody was a better wife than I am (I know he's laughing at this from Heaven). They talked on the phone for endless amounts of time several times throughout the week. They were supposed to be on a quail hunt on Saturday. They were supposed to go on their first big elk hunt in September. They were planning Cody's goat-roasting birthday party that isn't even until August. They had so many plans.

Why did this happen? I keep asking that question over and over again. It can't be explained, I can't process it. I'll never be able to tell Cody how thankful I am that he is a part of our lives. That he was a brother to Miles. That he helped Miles find a passion for something in life that I never would've been able to do. That I did truly love him even though he thought that I was mad at him at times for taking Miles away from me. Cody, I know that God wanted you and Miles to have as much time together as possible over the past several years. He wanted you two to make up for lost time, and He wanted you two to enjoy to the fullest the last years you had together here on Earth.

I do have several more things to tell him, so Cody, as you read this from Heaven, please know what a special person I think you are, what a wonderful friend that I know you are, and how much we all miss you and look forward to seeing you again.

Cody,
There aren't words to express the sorrow we all feel in your absence. You have clearly made an impact on so many lives, as has been obvious from the number of visitors, phone calls, emails, facebook messages, news articles, pictures, etc. that we have seen and heard here and at your parents' house over the past two days. You were a one-of-a-kind cowboy. I want to thank you for always being there for Miles. He trusted you with his life. He loves you so much, Cody.

As I struggle to find words through the tears, I trust that the Lord is taking care of you and you are a lot better off than all of us down here. Please look down on and take care of your family. I know you are my Milesy's Guardian Angel...he trusted you with his life and now I will trust you with his life.

Cody please forgive me for being less than understanding about all the hunting and fishing trips, the gun collections, the amount of time and energy it takes to work cows, or the incessant need to go to Cabela's or Academy to buy camo or look at guns. If there really is any good that is coming from this awful loss, it is this: I promise to be a better wife to Miles. I promise to be more understanding of his many loves in life...even the ones that I'm not a part of. I promise to be supportive, nurturing, and understanding. I promise that if he ever finds another friend like you that that friend will know how much he means to me because I never got the chance to tell you. Please send him that friend, Cody. No one will ever replace you, but I pray that he finds someone like you.

You and Miles are the storytellers. I can't even begin to count the number of Cody stories I've heard from him the past two days. I love that we can keep you with us always through stories. I've always known Miles loved to tell a story...I guess when you weren't around he was basking in being the best of the storytellers. Perhaps when you do send a friend, send someone who won't constantly compete with Miles for the storytelling spotlight. :)

Believe it or not I got your dad to crack a teeny tiny smile yesterday. We all know I wasn't cut from the same cloth as you country boys. I told Miles I need cowboy hat etiquette training because of course I was the one to knock Beau's cowboy hat off the table...then I was the one that tried for what felt like forever to put it back on the table with very little room to work with. And naturally I was the idiot that set it down on the brim with everyone staring at me like what is wrong with this girl??? Butch said "I wouldn't set it down like that if I was you" and I looked up to see everyone staring at me and shaking their heads. He said "you obviously aren't from around here!" and cracked a small, much needed smile. Your mom and dad need you watching over them, Cody, as do Robin and Joel and the whole family. Everyone is hurting so much right now; we all just wish you'd come walking through the door and this whole disaster would just be written off as a dream.

Of course none of us will ever understand why you were taken from us so soon. It's unfathomable that we will go on the rest of our lives without you here on Earth. It just doesn't make sense, and it's so hard to accept the reality of it all. Although we know that you won't be here in person with us in the future, it's heart-warming to know that you'll forever be with us in spirit and in our memories. We love you, we miss you, and we look forward to the day that we will see you again.

Give God a gigantic cowboy-sized hug for me.
Love you always,
Jen

God, I pray for strength for myself, for Miles, and for all of Cody's family and friends. Please be with us to navigate through the long road ahead of us. Watch over us, Lord, and help us in our time of need. Help us to understand. Help us to believe that Cody will always be with us. We survive knowing that faith will help us through this. Please be with me as I commit to being a better wife, friend, and life-long partner to Miles. Your guidance is crucial to our acceptance of this tragedy, Lord, and I pray that our faith, our hope, and our love will carry us now and always. In Your name, Amen.

sweet beer and baseball dreams...

I've been asked multiple times lately about why I haven't blogged in a while...I really suck at this whole routine blogging thing, especially considering how busy I stay during softball season. Believe it or not, I've been gone so often that my kids in class are tired of having a sub! I didn't know that was possible. But now I figure that the Rangers' season is about to start up again, so at least I have something to talk about other than me, Miles, and our Hambone! :) Oh I do love my life, but there's only so many times that I can tell y'all how adorable my dog is before you get sick of reading.

Anyway - for those of you wondering what's been going on with us lately, here is the short version. First things first...CHELSEA AND MIKEY ARE FINALLY ENGAGED!!! We are thrilled, excited, and busy planning the wedding! This summer at Tom & Janet's gorgeous home in Magnolia. Congratulations to my beautiful sister and my soon-to-be brother in law!

Second, I can't believe we're already in the 5th six weeks of school. That means that summer is just around the corner! Spring Break is next week, then it's downhill from there! Ahh. So heart-warming to think about.

Third, my big brother is about to turn THIRTY. Where the hell did time go? I cannot believe that he's about to hit that milestone, and that I'm a mere 18 months behind him! We have so much to be thankful for in this life. God has truly blessed our family. We have had such amazing experiences and our lives have been filled with love and laughter. That being said...I DON'T WANNA TURN 30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

If this qualifies as fourth, here goes it: For all you prying peeps wondering when Miles and I are gonna have kids...let me get through this summer then we'll talk. Is that good enough? :)

Ok - moving right along - and right back to the Rangers...I'm thrilled that Michael Young is still a Ranger, and he will always be an inspiring leader that I look up to in the profession. I am STOKED to see how well the one and only Christopher Davis is doing at spring training. I still have an undying love (totally platonic) for Josh Hamilton. I dream about baseball and beers. I can't wait to see what surprises this season brings. I see that the line up has changed, and I dig it. We've already bought tickets for April 2nd since OF COURSE I have softball and can't go on Opening Day. Day 2 isn't so bad either. Plus - check this out: http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/02/rangers-plan-on-field-ring-cer.html
What's not to be excited about?!?! I heart baseball season. And...just so you know...WE WON'T BE MISSING DOG DAY AT THE BALLPARK THIS YEAR. Count on seeing my Hambone all over the TV that day.

Alrighty folks, that's all I've got in me for tonight. I'll try to be a better blogger...promise! For now I'll leave you with my first of many...

C&A baby.