Not Empire, but we went to the opening of the new BC Place on Friday with 50,000 of our closest friends and saw those same BC Lions beat the Eskimos in a great match at a fantastic new facility.
New building aside, the best aspect of the evening was another experience shared and added to the memory banks for life.
Those are gold and worth every cent of admission…and then some. (just don’t tell the Lions that…I don’t want them to raise their ticket prices)
I talked with my Dad this evening and it’s great to hear his voice strong and stronger. He wrote a famous list called 70 things to do now that I’m 70. He’s doing so well I’m expecting an 80 things to do now that I’m 80 very soon.
He inspired a certain Max to write a 20 things to do now that I’m 20 just weeks ago.
Very cool.
Today I had a long talk with one of my sons. We talked about life now and life in the future. We shared some laughs about the past…silly stories and stuff that makes our family what it is. As always we shared how much we care for each other…things that don’t change…NO MATTER WHAT.
I did the same with Max and we were able to share a great bike ride and play some basketball too.
Whether coaching the boys soccer teams, Max playing basketball and Chris lacrosse.
Then there was the fan part of sports.
Tonight Ingrid and I ventured out to our first Whitecaps soccer game.
It was a fantastic experience…aside from the referee who felt he should be the center of attention, but alas before this becomes a sports rant, I’ll stop. (cause if I don’t I’ll probably get a red card seeing as they were being handed out like candy tonight) ((ok, I’ll really stop now))
The crowd was great. The game was great. The atmosphere was great. The company was great.
One of the first things Ingrid said to me as we sat down was what do you think Chris would think of the soccer team, MLS in Vancouver etc. I said I knew he would love it and given the open air atmosphere of Empire Field, he probably had the best seats in the house tonight.
I will never forget the Canucks playoff run and disappointment last year and the anticipation of a BIG run this year.
It was riveting and was a great distraction in very tough times. I think though, it was more than just a distraction. It reminded me of the passion that only comes from sports. The kind of passion that Chris lived with. I think that’s the true attraction.
When the winds kick up and the storm is blowin, there are bound to be a few whitecaps on the water. We’ve seen a few of those in our family this past year!
However, it was the Whitecaps tonight, that offered that wonderful first-hand look into the purity and passion of sport and remind us both of another amazing athlete and son we know, love and remember with every heartbeat.
Be The Best. 