It’s a World Cup year and I’ve got TIVO—a dangerous combo. I don’t think I mentioned this but Maceo’s middle name was this close to being “Ronaldinho.” It was a whimsical outside bet but the guy, as brilliant as he is on the field, is just too damn ugly. Mase is a cutie boy.
When I tossed the possibility of acquiring a brilliant Brazilian footballer’s middle name to friends, some suggested “Pele” instead. That’s like naming your kid God. The expectations are set too high.
Mase and I will watch some soccer games together—mostly FC Barcelona games where ‘Dihno plays including their recent run in the UEFA Cup. The flow of the game isn’t too crazy for him. Soccer isn’t like American football with all the quick cuts and timeouts. The visual spectrum rarely changes. I read that kids attention spans are wrecked because of television so I limit this exposure and catch up to the game when he’s sleeping. TIVO rules.
But this has happened a lot: he’ll be playing or just kicking it nearby and 'Dinho or Eto’o will create some amazing play or miss a shot and I go “OHHHHHH!!!!” and slap the couch arm. Mase is getting over being startled by these Tourette’s-like outbursts, which gives me great pride.
It is also with great pride that I, Soccer Dad, announce that Maceo said his first recognizable word yesterday. What was it? “Daddy”? No. “Mama”? No. “49ers”? No, thank Pele.
It was “BALL”—with the helpful prodding of mom, while I kicked said ball to him. Sounds like kismet to me. Maybe it isn’t too late to change his middle name to “Ronaldinho.” :)
1 comment:
Still a horrible name. You could just change his middle name to "FC" or "UEFA" and that'll be like a whole team homage!
The Noodle's first words were DADA. But she loved "ball" quickly after and can kick the heck out of size one pink soccer ball straight to you.
By the way...I was up at 5am for the last World Cup Finals in a bar in D.C. At least this one won't be as bad of a time difference.
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