{"id":1281,"date":"2014-03-01T15:16:42","date_gmt":"2014-03-01T15:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.com\/?p=1281"},"modified":"2014-03-01T15:16:42","modified_gmt":"2014-03-01T15:16:42","slug":"bleeding-laker-blue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/?p=1281","title":{"rendered":"Bleeding Laker Blue"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"basketball\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I really don\u2019t like sports bullies, especially not the ones wearing lipstick.<\/p>\n

My first encounter with this phenomenon was when Reed was in 7th<\/sup> grade football.\u00a0 I was at the grocery store hurrying to make my purchases before it was time to pick him up from practice.\u00a0 As I was heading to the check-out, I ran into a lady I know from town.<\/p>\n

Picture it \u2013 her cart jutting in front of mine.<\/p>\n

So, I hear Lakeview is going to play Marshall in junior high football. <\/b><\/p>\n

Since I had no knowledge of this, my response was curt (plus I was in a hurry).<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 You\u2019re not on our schedule. <\/i><\/p>\n

Oh yes we are!\u00a0 The game just got added today.\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

Well that will be great.\u00a0<\/i>The\u00a0team doesn’t\u00a0have many more games; so, this is great news! I\u2019ve really got to go because I still need to head back to the school. <\/i><\/p>\n

I politely said my goodbye, and gently pushed around her cart.\u00a0 I was a few feet away when I heard her parting words.<\/p>\n

Well, it is a good thing Reed is such a good sport. <\/b><\/p>\n

It was almost as if the Mama Bear in me awoke from hibernation right there in the cereal aisle.<\/p>\n

Excuse me???<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

The smug look in her eyes said it all.\u00a0 We live in the largest town in the county (pop. 13700), but we CHOOSE to go to school (for a myriad of reasons) in a smaller town (pop. 1215).\u00a0 I knew what she was implying, but I was shocked.\u00a0 For goodness sake, this is junior high football.<\/p>\n

What do you mean? <\/i><\/p>\n

Well, you know.\u00a0 It is Marshall after all.\u00a0 I just know Reed won\u2019t take it so hard when they lose.\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n

What I wanted to say, and what came out are two different things.\u00a0 I erred on the side of remembering that God was watching.<\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019m not so sure that they will.\u00a0 And even though we live here, he still bleeds Laker Blue. <\/i><\/p>\n

I honestly hadn\u2019t thought about that conversation until . . . this week.\u00a0 I overheard someone saying that today was my daughter\u2019s team\u2019s last game.<\/p>\n

Do what??? It is a play-off game.\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n

Two teams will show up today, and each has as good a chance as the other to go on.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s match-up involves a team that has beaten our girls twice, and I am pretty sure that they are taking the court with an attitude of superiority.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0What they don\u2019t know is that each and every one of our girls also bleeds Laker Blue.<\/p>\n

Just thinking about today\u2019s game reminds me of another story that didn\u2019t end the way others predicted it would.\u00a0 A tiny young man with five little stones and one giant!\u00a0 The key factor is David\u2019s belief that he would succeed.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t listen to what those in the Israeli camp were saying.\u00a0 He showed up and \u201cplayed his game\u201d.<\/p>\n

All the things I wish for my daughter and her teammates.<\/p>\n

These girls have talent, and from what I\u2019ve seen they also have the largest fan base of any school in the area.\u00a0 The 6th<\/sup> \u201cman\u201d has helped turn the tide on more than occasion. \u00a0They work hard, have been coached well, and put in the extra time to succeed.<\/p>\n

So\u00a0NOW is the time to show up with their heads held high and Laker blue pumping through their veins –\u00a0knowing they can do this!<\/p>\n

Talent & teamwork will get you so far.\u00a0 Play to the final buzzer – Finish strong!<\/p>\n

And BELIEVE \u2013 that sometimes the giants will fall!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I really don\u2019t like sports bullies, especially not the ones wearing lipstick. My first encounter with this phenomenon was when Reed was in 7th grade football.\u00a0 I was at the grocery store hurrying to make my purchases before it was time to pick him up from practice.\u00a0 As I was heading to the check-out, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[793,897,898,899,900,901],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}