My Dad’s Love of the Game

A die-hard Braves fan who did not make it to the Series

Alisa Childress
6 min readOct 27, 2021
Photo by Christopher Alvarenga on Unsplash

I am not a sports fan. Never have been. Except for a couple of years in the late 80’s when I suddenly became obsessed with the Lakers playing in the championship. I had no ties, ever, to LA or California but was, inexplicably, very invested in their winning. I thought Magic Johnson was the best player of all time. Not because he was a big shooter, but because he was so good at assists and was indirectly responsible for so many points. I still stand by this.

I watch March Madness, but only if there is a local college in play. I may watch the ACC tournament if my alma mater is playing. And I always, always watch the University of Louisville (my school) play the University of Kentucky in basketball every year, the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

I am not a football fan. Never watched a Super Bowl. As dedicated as I have been to catching the UL/UK basketball game every year, the only time I ever cared about the football game was in 2019. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I found out the previous week that my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

I did not watch the game. Had I been at home, I would have. But, I went out to eat with a good friend. She and I almost share a birthday and, in college, would go out…

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Alisa Childress

Alisa writes of own experience with caregiving and mental health . She lives in Louisville, KY. with her husband and pets. Find her at alisachildress.com.