I am a huge sports nut.  I love just about every sport, and growing up I tried everything except hockey. So I was ready to watch the recent Super Bowl between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints.

I remember that the Super Bowl was one game that my dad would sit and watch.  He wouldn’t say much, but almost always watchedtogether.  I don’t really think that he cared who won.  But watching a game together still ranks as one of the fond memories of him.  For that one day, I felt like my dad was my buddy, a friend. I hated to see the Super Bowl end because it meant the end of the season, and a return to the relationship I had with my dad the other 364 days of the year.

If you watched the recent game, you know it was a great one.  Struggles, challenges, good passes, onside kicks, gutsy calls and clutch performances.  Drew Brees, the New Orleans quarterback, played fabulously in the second half. He not only led his team to victory, but was named the MVP in the process. He deserved every honor he got in that game.  Without him, I believe the Saints would not have won.

Sports teaches you a lot about a life, and you can draw your normal life lessons from the game.  But I want to talk about something that happened after the game.

After the Saints won and were huddled on the field, the confetti was raining down, players looked happy and a little relieved. Drew Brees was holding his one-year-old son, who had these cool headphones on to shield his ears from the noise in the stadium.  Brees was holding his son, kissing him and crying.  This father just seemed so happy and at peace, so fortunate to share that moment with his son, that it choked me up.

I guess that is what I miss.  Sharing those indescribable moments in life with my dad.  Do we really appreciate those moments when they happen to us?  Drew Brees did.  Maybe we can learn from his example. Let us cherish those special moments with our fathers because we never know if they will happen again.

Tags: grief, hope