By Kristen Swann
My sports story started the same way that many others’ did: at birth.
Whether I liked it or not, the second I entered this world, sports were going to be a huge part of my life. Thanks to my father and my two older brothers, the sports I would play and the teams I would cheer for, had already been decided.
Sure, technically I had a choice. But when you spend your entire childhood
living in a house with 3 die-hard sports fans, it’s best to not resist. Besides, it didn’t take much time for me to love them on my own.
I grew up in a small town in western New York, which means two things: a love/hate relationship with snow and a similar one with the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.
Being a Buffalo sports fan is its own special kind of torture. It doesn’t matter how many times the Bills break our hearts or the Sabres tank for a chance to draft that player who will be the answer. We always find ourselves uttering the same phrase, “next year is our year.”
At the start of every season, we forget the last one ever happened and act like it didn’t end in widespread disappointment. That’s why beer is such an essential part of the equation for Bills fans.
Even though our teams have a rich history of losing in the worst ways, we will always keep coming back, every year more hopeful than the last. The Bills and Sabres are the city of Buffalo and we have an unconditional love for them.
When I was 11, my dad took my brothers and I to my first Sabres game and it changed my entire outlook on sports. Granted I was a young and excited little girl who was probably also on a little bit of a sugar high, I remember being in awe the entire time. To me, the former HSBC arena was a ginormous sea of the Sabres old red and black colors.
The game was nothing like what I was used to seeing on TV. The players skated so fast and hit so hard. Anyone who has seen a hockey game in person knows that there is no comparison. From that day on I became a die-hard.
I have my father and brothers to thank for introducing me to sports. From the time I was just a few years old, I can remember the three of them talking about football or hockey or baseball, depending on the season. This was also about the time that I began my own extensive athletic career.
“When you were four years old you started playing soccer and that’s when you really seemed to grasp the concept and the competitiveness of the sport,” my mother, told me.
From then on, I played soccer year-round on travel and school affiliated teams until I graduated from high school. I also played basketball and softball every season from 5th grade on.
It would be a complete lie if I said that sports weren’t my entire life growing up. Between the three sports, usually playing two at a time, I didn’t do much else. Luckily, I didn’t have to plan when I would hang out with my best friends because I saw them everyday in practice. There were plenty of other benefits such as the clichés that it helps you learn teamwork and sportsmanship- corny but still true.
Some people might think that it was crazy to spend so much time on sports. But, to me there was nothing else. I never even questioned doing anything different.
“It was such a fun time watching you play and taking you to the games and tournaments and practices,” said my dad, who I’ll never be able to repay for taking on that burden.
Sure, I wasn’t going to go pro in any of them but some of the best memories and friends of my life are from sports and I wouldn’t trade a single practice or game for anything.
I still remember the feeling when my varsity soccer team made it to the sectional finals in 2010. I was a sophomore and I had never been so nervous. I had made the varsity team as an 8th grader, so by then I didn’t usually get nervous for games, but this was something else. I remember looking out into the stands in disbelief at how packed they were. No one ever came to our games.
I saw my mom sitting in the last row with a huge green and black banner that she spent hours making for the team. My brothers, who are both incredible athletes, especially in soccer, were sitting next to her. The two of them are undoubtedly the reason I started playing in the first place, which is why I always wanted to make them proud of me.
Down on the sideline was where my dad always stood. Most of the dads huddled down there together but I think my dad only did so he could yell to me during the game. As if I wouldn’t hear him even if he were in the parking lot.
The crowd was loud and full of students from my small high school. I just remember thinking how cool it was that everyone was there for us. All the years of playing soccer, all the 7am training sessions, the days where my legs hurt too much to even sit down were all worth it for the feeling I had that night.
The two goals I scored earned me the Offensive MVP award and my team a Section V title. I must say that all these years later, it’s still one of the most rewarding things I have accomplished.
Now I play club soccer in college but when I graduate in May it will be the end of my sports days. Beer league slow pitch will be the highest level that I’ll ever compete at again. Although it’s sad, I am grateful that I was able to have such a fulfilling sports career.
In my opinion, the most important thing about sports, whether its watching or playing, is that they bring people together. A team has the ability to unite a community like nothing else. The city of Buffalo lives and dies for the Bills and Sabres. It gives everyone a common ground and a reason to love one another. In America today, any reason to come together is a beautiful thing.