I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who expressed concern for wanting to support his son in sports programs, but my friend is much like me — we are not “sports enabled.” Or shall I say that we have talents, but our talents do not include the use of balls, clubs, bats, mitts, cleats, pads, or the like. How often I have felt like Charlie Brown when Lucy teases him (as shown.)
It is very hard for a “sports-challenged” guy like me to be around “jock Dads” when supporting a family member’s sports interests. For example, I like to show my nephews and nieces that I love them by showing up on occasion at one of their games, but there are times when fathers of other players have made me feel inadequate, uncomfortable, and unhappy. Some have behaved in ways as if they have not graduated from school. In many ways, feelings I had in grade school return — and those grade-school scars are hard to heal.
How does a non-sports guy help raise a son, or show support to a nephew, when he feels so inadequate in comparison with other fathers and uncles?
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Oh crap, I thought I had seen it all. Oh well, here goes with the answer from a gay man who should know.
This is a photo of my All American 905L Patrol Boots that appeared in the January 31, 2013, edition of the Stompers Boots newsletter sent via email.
Last week, the area I live in in the Mid-Atlantic United States was bombarded with two back-to-back storms that dropped…