The Penalty Box: Being Grateful Makes Life Better

Regardless of your world view or what your everyday outlook on life might be, it’s universally accepted that positive people are easier to be around than negative people.

Whether or not we want to fully admit it, we prefer to spend more time with people who smile a lot than people who rarely do.

The epicenter of this attitude of gratitude is Thanksgiving, and that’s where we are.

So, it feels appropriate to share with you some things I am thankful for. Specifically, things of a sporting nature that I am grateful for.

These are in no particular order, by the way.

I am thankful for coaches.

That may seem very broad, and I suppose it is. Let me expound.

I appreciate not only their existing knowledge of their sport, but also their continuing education. A coach who stops seeking to grow is like anyone else who stops seeking to grow—they’re done.

I have admitted many times in this space over the years that I have never coached anything above the level of men’s slow pitch softball. So I appreciate someone who is good at it—or at least better than me.

I also realize that coaches play an important role in helping me with my broadcasts. With rare exception, coaches share their rosters, point out who probably will start (and for football give me their top two players at each position) and either attach their team and player stats in an email or send me a link to a stat service they post their stats on.

If you’ve listened to my broadcasts at all, you know how important all of that is to the process.

Thank you, coaches!

I am also thankful for the kids. The players spend many hours working to get better. They give up many activities and experiences that their non-athletic peers participate in all the time.

Thank you, athletes!

I am thankful for the people at the radio station, who do what it takes to allow us to get on the air in the first place. I am talking about the administration, the sales people who sell the commercials on the broadcast, and my friend Steve Scott who pushes the buttons to get my voice on the air and play those commercials.

Thank you, to everyone at the radio station!

I would like to show my sincere appreciation to the people in the athletic departments of our area.

Sure, you know what they do. They hire and train the coaches and their staffs, organize their game schedules and oversee the game night operations.

But what you don’t see is pretty spectacular.

You don’t see the person doing grade checks to make sure the players are eligible.

You don’t see the person who helps the fans purchase season tickets in their favorite spot in their hometown venue.

You don’t see the person who organizes transportation for the teams for road contests.

You don’t see the person who knows that the concession stand is almost out of popcorn oil and Skittles, and so they order more.

You don’t see the person who gets to meet with the parents upset with their kid’s playing time.

Oh, and you don’t see them send rosters to media people like me.

Thank you to everyone who works in our local athletic departments.

Thanks to the local companies who invest in their own businesses and in the young people of their community by sponsoring their local athletic department, their local teams and their local broadcasters. I hope you never think you are just making a donation—I hope the advertising works for you.

And then there is my team at home.

My wife and kids spend a lot of time without their husband and dad, especially in the winter months.

Knowing they are going to be there when I get home, even though they are asleep a lot when I walk in the door from those long road trips, makes it much easier to leave them in the first place.

Thanks Holly, Hannah and Oliver. Thanks for your patience, and for putting up with me.

It feels like the bad in the world is overtaking the good. I get it!

It’s getting harder and harder to see the positivity in humanity.

It’s getting harder and harder to live a life marked with a grateful heart.

But no matter how bad it’s been, how bad it is or how bad it gets, every single one of us can find something and someone to be thankful for.

But, like all the people I mentioned above, it takes a lot of effort to make it work…but it’s worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving!