Warning: For those of you with children, this commentary is strictly meant to be tongue in cheek. Children are beautiful gifts from the good Lord, but at times, just some times, they can be a little, how do you say - annoying?
So with that out of the way, I do not have children, but I do have a little Notre Dame Fighting Irish running around at the house. Then, there's big brother Chicago Bears.I also have another child, but he's the apple of his father's eye right now, Chicago Cubs - Cubbies to his friends.
Just as parents may favor, or take more pride, in one child over another (don't worry, you don't have to agree out loud), Papa Gadson most certainly does. And not only do I favor certain children over the others, I let 'em know about it.
I'm not saying I don't love all my boys equally - cause I do. It's just that sometimes this father sits higher up in the bleachers for some of my boys' games.
Cubbies games? Right now, my boy's doin' papa proud. I'm right in the front row cheering my head off, but not to the point that other parents are staring and opposing players wanna take me on. No, just the kind of cheering that results in bumper stickers on the minivan.
Bears? They're teetering right now. With Cubbies out of the house, Bears is a little depressed, and it appears to be affecting his play.
Not only is Bears a little down, he's also beginning to irritate others.
Just as some kids may kick the back of your seat, my Bears allows offenses to shred their defense for no apparent reason.
So what do I say when the 'D' gets sliced and diced? "Why do you keep doing that?!" The same response another child may receive for, say - kicking the seat of a stranger.
When Bears' quarterback insists on throwing into triple coverage? "Why do keep doing that?!" You get the idea.
Bears' coach continues to trust erratic quarterback - "Why do you keep doing that?!" Bears safety continues to try to knock blocks off instead of making tackles - "Why do you keep doing that?!"
It's the same with my youngest, Fighting Irish.
Now this kid's become a real problem child. He's a couple broken windows short of being sent away. But like any parent, I still love him.
Sure he's not as good as the other kids in his grade. While they opt to score touchdowns and stop people on defense, my Fighting Irish would rather not block or tackle. Little rascal.
For you, uncontrallable crying in a store or restaurant for no reason - you ask, "Why do you keep doing that?!" In my world? Uncontrollably being ran all over in Notre Dame Stadium, Happy Valley or The Big House - "Why do you keep doing that?!"
Ole Mischievous Irish. For some reason, he enjoys to never look back for the ball when playing defensive back. Instead, he prefers to just make the tackle once the receiver has possession. Bold strategy, and only time will tell if it works. As a father, I just hope he learns quick, but he's been putting that fork in the outlet for quite a while.
But those are my boys, and I love them. Who knows, maybe by this time next year, Irish will be cleaned up. And just as I'm proud of Irish, Cubbies may be hanging with new, shady friends, and I'm suspecting he's huffing gas.
So as I continue to watch them grow and mature (or maybe that's me), there's gonna be many more ups and downs. But it's those many, many downs that make the ups that much better. Case in point - the Bears in Super Bowl XXL and the 2003 Cubbies.
Me and these boys have been through some trying times, but I'm always believing. And like any parent, I'm quite sure they'll be the death of me.
