My dad will always be my favorite writer

Two weeks ago my dad and I attended the Waseca State Championship football game at US Bank stadium. If anyone had told my dad and me at any point in our lives that we would attend two state championship games together, both covering Waseca sports, standing on the sidelines/court together, I don’t know if we would have believed them.

 

Last year it was at Williams Arena for basketball, this year at US Bank for football. 

 

I remember watching the Bluejays State Football semifinals game together with my dad in 2018 on the couch. And I remember watching the Bluejays win a state title in basketball together on the same couch. Going to the games, standing on the sidelines, talking about the teams, plays, etc. all while making the many long drives, has been very special. 

 

On the way home from the game my dad shared the lead–that is, the first few lines–of the story he would have written if the Bluejays had won. 

 

“For the Waseca Bluejays, there are no more practices to attend or games to play. Nothing left to prove.

 

“They have won it all.”

 

It gave me goosebumps.

 

It still does. 

 

My dad said he’s had that lead in his back pocket for 40 years. Still waiting to grace our local sports pages. 

 

Hearing those words filled me with emotion. I wish I could articulate better, in words, the way the sound of those words flowed so smoothly from my dad’s mouth. It was like listening to Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society or Gene Hackman in Hoosiers. 

 

I’ve always said my dad is my favorite writer. Moments like that cement his legacy, in my mind, even further.