I am down in Temecula visiting my father and grandmother and yesterday a light went off in my head. It is the kind of light that, as my High School Geometry teacher said, "Makes you go A-Ha". It was an A-Ha moment.
It was after dinner and my grandmother, fiancée and I had retired to the sitting room.
The discussion began about my grandfather, who has long since passed, and then it turned, as it always does to sports.
As my grandmother was telling a story about how she was watching the Raiders, in their first year at the Coliseum, play through a water main leak that flooded the field I started to see where my passion for sports was bread. That was my A-Ha moment.
She was describing how every time a player was tackled they would "Whoosh" across the field through the tall standing water and my mind was drifting to all of the conversations that we've had throughout the years.
Sitting here now, I am reminded of the night that the ball bounced through Bill Buckner's legs and my grandmother's dreams of a Boston World Championship went with them.
Having spent part of the summer with my father in New York and seeing Dwight Gooden win his 20th game at 19 years old, you can probably guess who I was rooting for.
I am also reminded of the story about my grandfather pulling patrol at Yankee stadium the night that Bob Feller threw a perfect game.
As my grandmother tells it he left the house stark raving mad about having to go and then came home beaming about being the luckiest man in the World.
You see, sports have been a huge part of my family for centuries. Our thirst for physical competition and expression probably dates back to the Highlander games.
My grandmother still has scars on her shins from playing field hockey 80 years ago.
So, Raider Nation, I pose this question to you...What was your A-Ha moment?