The Best Father's Day

I know that it is hard to label anything "the best", especially when you are talking about moments in your life knowing that there are still many more moments to come. But in this case, I feel pretty comfortable saying that this past year I had what was without a doubt the Best Father's Day ever.






My father grew up in New Jersey as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. After they left for LA he became a New York Mets fan when they came into existence, thus I was born and raised a huge Mets fan. So much, that since my daughter was born during the last year of the Mets home of Shea Stadium, my wife and I named her Samantha Shea. Well since moving to Florida somewhere around 30 years ago, my father has taken up rooting for the Tampa Bay Rays as well, being his new "home team". So when the baseball schedule came out for 2009, I saw that the Mets were hosting the Rays on Father's Day weekend at their brand new ballpark, Citi Field, which was visually molded after Ebbets Field, the old home of the Dodgers in Brooklyn. So I promptly got tickets and had my Dad book a flight up for the weekend.






Needless to say, it was an amazing day. My father with me, me with my daughter and wife, spending Fathers day at a brand new ballpark that pays tribute to both of our teams. The only problem was my dad was torn between his longtime of rooting for the Mets and his new interest of the Rays. So he wore a Mets hat and Rays shirt. The game wasn't necessarily the important part, it was spending the time with my Dad, as a dad myself, in a place that cemented our bond.

To be able to share that day with my dad and my family was a moment I will cherish forever. Say what you will about sports, there is something about baseball that brings us together, and on that day it was magic...