I've been a big fan of the Gophers Women's Basketball team for a few years now, and I usually try to get to at least one home game at The Barn during the season. Christopher is not a fan of basketball, but is very understanding of my love of the game, so he suggested I take Mallory to a game with me. I took his suggestion and off we went. It was on Wednesday night, January 5th against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Mallory had a BLAST. She was in excitement overload when we first arrived. What toddler wouldn't be? The band was blaring, there were cheerleaders jumping around all over the floor, and the teams were warming up. Lots of movement and noise, she didn't know where to look first! We found our seats, got situated just in time for national anthem. Once the anthem was over, we sat and waited for the game to start.
During the first break in action, Mallory was checking out the scenery and making friends with our neighboring fans, when there he was. Standing tall, dark and furry in the shadow. He pointed at her, she pointed back and the connection was made. Goldy the Gopher was less than 20 feet away. Mallory was a bit stunned. She wasn't quite sure what to make out of this furry creature who had just befriended her. They had a silent interaction, blew kisses to each other and then it was over. For the rest of the night, she was VERY aware of Goldy's whereabouts.
The game carried on, Mallory enjoyed a popcorn and cookie treat, and we watched the girls play basketball. I could not and still can not believe how much Mallory actually paid attention to the game. She was shouting out the numbers on the back of the jerseys, the ones she knew anyway. She was like a color commentator. She was telling me all the girls actions, like "look, girls running" and "I see a ball, now it's in the air".
The half-time show was such a treat. It was a youth group called the Alexandria Aces, and they were like the Harlem Globetrotters. It was CRAZY how good these kids were. I was frozen just watching all the moves and antics. They must train really hard because they were really, really good.
Because the seats around us during half-time were empty, Mallory had a little bit if walking room, but she didn't do any walking, she just stood there watching the Aces do their thing.
The best part of our evening was towards the end, when the cheerleaders throw small basketballs out into the crowd. We stood up, mother and daughter, started clapping our hands and screaming loudly and sure enough, we were able to catch the eye of one of the cheerleaders, so Mallory got her very first basketball, or "bak - est- ball" as she calls it.
She was so proud. I think she would've slept with it, if I let her. It was amazing seeing Mallory enjoy the game and everything that comes with a college sporting event. She took it all in and then some. She seemed to really enjoy herself, she was a perfect little angel the entire time, and I was a proud mommy. Even though the Gopher's lost the game, it was fun anyway. I didn't take her to see a victory (although it would've been nice), I took her to bond and to enjoy something together at mother and daughter, and boy did we enjoy it, and each other.
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