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Stories of my father

Chris Watts

Well-Known Member
Jan 9, 2020
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1
I enjoy hearing stories from different perspectives. I started thinking about stories that involve my father, Randy Watts. As I thought of these stories, I wondered if I was remembering the details of the events correctly or not. I then thought, I wonder if my dad even remembers the events correctly. And finally, I thought, who cares!

I thought someone might be interested to hear some of the stories from both of our perspectives. Likely both versions of the events will contain errors but that’s okay. I plan to post a story every so often, when I find the time and think of something potentially interesting. I will then share my version with my dad and ask for his version of the story. I will then post his version for comparison. I will edit this original post to include links to the new stories when (if) they are posted.

I realize that these will be long posts and not something everyone is into. But I hope someone finds something interesting in the stories. Perhaps it spurs on other stories or memories you have of your father/mother, son/daughter, coach, self, teammate, or someone else influential in your life. Feel free to let the discussion roll. 😊


Story #1 - My dad's second national championship - Chris's Perspective / Dad's Perspective

Story #2 - Cornering my father - Chris's Perspective / Dad's Perspective
 
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Story #1 - My dad’s second national championship

I was very young, maybe 8-10 years old. My father qualified for the AAU National tournament by winning the regional. This was not uncommon at the time because my dad wrestled AAU’s nearly every year until he was 50. He beat quite a few very good (much younger) wrestlers I’d imagine. I don’t remember him losing. But he usually did not travel to the national AAU tournament as it tended to be far away and with 4 young boys my mom likely put her foot down on that. But this particular national tournament happened to be only a few hours away so my dad convinced my mom to let him go. So, my parents loaded 4 young boys into our car and we traveled to the AAU National Tournament.

Now, I’m not sure if this was the case with other weight classes but there was only one other guy in my dad’s Open Division weight class. So, since this ended up being a finals match, we were there most of the day waiting and waiting and waiting for my dad to finally wrestle his “national championship” match. I’m not sure how my mom was able to keep us entertained for the entire time but I’m sure her patience was completely gone by the time my dad was finally on the mat.

Now, my dad is a bit of a character (understatement) and also a wrestling innovator. He was always interested in the moves that were a bit uncommon and odd. Elevators, various scramble positions, seatbelt positions and tilts, and many other unnamed moves and situations were what interested him the most. I’m pretty sure they clarified the rules because he used to line up on top facing his opponent (nearly in front headlock position) because he could still reach around and put his hand on the elbow and navel. I felt for the poor referees who had to deal with him “pushing the boundaries of innovation”.

But anyway, there we were, my out-of-patience mother and four young impressionable sons, in the front row, with the opportunity to watch my dad wrestle for the national championship. My dad won NCAA Division II nationals in college, but I’m sure he saw this national championship opportunity as an unrepeatable chance to show his sons what their dad could do.

The match starts and I’m not sure exactly how much of the match was wrestled but it seems to me that it was still very early in the first period. My dad notices that his opponent is continually taking a step back when he tries to engage in neutral. In my dad’s head, this presents an opportunity for innovation…

The next time his opponent takes a step back my dad decides to attempt a forward-roll double-leg takedown. He is planning to time it correctly and close the gap to the legs by doing a quick forward roll and completing the roll in perfect double-leg position. Unfortunately, his opponent doesn’t know this. And as my dad hits the roll, his opponent takes a step forward instead of backward. In the middle of the roll, my dad’s old Asics make perfect contact square on his opponent’s nose. And as my dad completes the roll, he doesn’t end up in double-leg position but on top of his opponent who is lying on his back losing consciousness. My dad notices his opponent’s eyes rolling back in his head so tries to “save” him by gently slapping his face and saying “no, no, no, no, no”. But it doesn’t work. He’s knocked out cold.

The last thing I remember is the runner-up being strapped to a gurney and loaded into an ambulance. I’m sure it was just precautionary though…

After dragging four boys hours in a car and then waiting all day in a cramped arena only to watch my dad knockout his opponent doing a ridiculous “move”, I can only imagine the conversation between my mom and dad when we all finally got back home. But, now that I think about it, I’ll certainly never forget my dad winning his second national wrestling championship!
 
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Story #1 - My dad’s second national championship

I was very young, maybe 8-10 years old. My father qualified for the AAU National tournament by winning the regional. This was not uncommon at the time because my dad wrestled AAU’s nearly every year until he was 50. He beat quite a few very good (much younger) wrestlers I’d imagine. I don’t remember him losing. But he usually did not travel to the national AAU tournament as it tended to be far away and with 4 young boys my mom likely put her foot down on that. But this particular national tournament happened to be only a few hours away so my dad convinced my mom to let him go. So, my parents loaded 4 young boys into our car and we traveled to the AAU National Tournament.

Now, I’m not sure if this was the case with other weight classes but there was only one other guy in my dad’s Open Division weight class. So, since this ended up being a finals match, we were there most of the day waiting and waiting and waiting for my dad to finally wrestle his “national championship” match. I’m not sure how my mom was able to keep us entertained for the entire time but I’m sure her patience was completely gone by the time my dad was finally on the mat.

Now, my dad is a bit of a character (understatement) and also a wrestling innovator. He was always interested in the moves that were a bit uncommon and odd. Elevators, various scramble positions, seatbelt positions and tilts, and many other unnamed moves and situations were what interested him the most. I’m pretty sure they clarified the rules because he used to line up on top facing his opponent (nearly in front headlock position) because he could still reach around and put his hand on the elbow and navel. I felt for the poor referees who had to deal with him “pushing the boundaries of innovation”.

But anyway, there we were, my out-of-patience mother and four young impressionable sons, in the front row, with the opportunity to watch my dad wrestle for the national championship. My dad won NCAA Division II nationals in college, but I’m sure he saw this national championship opportunity as an unrepeatable chance to show his sons what their dad could do.

The match starts and I’m not sure exactly how much of the match was wrestled but it seems to me that it was still very early in the first period. My dad notices that his opponent is continually taking a step back when he tries to engage in neutral. In my dad’s head, this presents an opportunity for innovation…

The next time his opponent takes a step back my dad decides to attempt a forward-roll double-leg takedown. He is planning to time it correctly and close the gap to the legs by doing a quick forward roll and completing the roll in perfect double-leg position. Unfortunately, his opponent doesn’t know this. And as my dad hits the roll, his opponent takes a step forward instead of backward. In the middle of the roll, my dad’s old Asics make perfect contact square on his opponent’s nose. And as my dad completes the roll, he doesn’t end up in double-leg position but on top of his opponent who is lying on his back losing consciousness. My dad notices his opponent’s eyes rolling back in his head so tries to “save” him by gently slapping his face and saying “no, no, no, no, no”. But it doesn’t work. He’s knocked out cold.

The last thing I remember is the runner-up being strapped to a gurney and loaded into an ambulance. I’m sure it was just precautionary though…

After dragging four boys hours in a car and then waiting all day in a cramped arena only to watch my dad knockout his opponent doing a ridiculous “move”, I can only imagine the conversation between my mom and dad when we all finally got back home. But, now that I think about it, I’ll certainly never forget my dad winning his second national wrestling championship!
Having known him back in the day, this is completely plausible.

It's even better when visualizing his shaggy hair flopping around. (Can I assume no headgear? Please!)

PS, relieved to read the thread. I misunderstood the title as if he's no longer with us.
 
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Having known him back in the day, this is completely plausible.

It's even better when visualizing his shaggy hair flopping around. (Can I assume no headgear? Please!)

PS, relieved to read the thread. I misunderstood the title as if he's no longer with us.
I don't have a good memory of what he was wearing. I'm guessing it was either shorts/tshirt/no headgear or old school singlet/triangular-shaped plastic headgear. Probably the first outfit.

Sorry! He's still with us. But getting older at the same rate as everyone. So I do have some motivation to re-hear and record some of his stories for posterity. And I thought maybe someone else would enjoy reading them.
 
Yes. He actually has coached in six different school districts I think. The longest stint was as the Warrior Run junior high coach. Probably nearing 40 years of coaching or so.
Every kid at warrior run including myself knew about coach watts. His practices were fun to watch or participate in. He was always teaching something to somebody. He embodies what a coach is supposed to be
 
Story #1 - My dad’s second national championship - Dad's Perspective

This national AAU tournament was freestyle and I competed in the Masters Division. The masters division was split up to ages 35 to 40, 41 to 45, 46 to 50. and over 50. I was 46 at that time.

On day one, my cousin, Garth Watson, competed in his open division and won. Early in the day they announced that the master tournament would be moved to the next day, so I call my wife, Betsy, and suggested she bring my 4 sons down to watch Dad wrestle. This was at Hershey, where the state wrestling tournament happens every year. So, she made the long 2 ½ hr. trip from Turbotville.

It is interesting that Chris only remembers the forward roll – knock out match!! I'm not sure they arrived to see earlier matches??

I had one and maybe two matches to win my age division. I went to receive my 1st place medal and was told, I would have 3 more matches against the other age division champions. They were making a GRAND Master. I asked the order, and was told the over 50 champ would be first. That's the roll match described by Chris.

I should note that the freestyle matches were 2 periods. (3 minutes, 1 minute rest / towel-off, and another 3 minutes). My over-50 opponent wasn't much of a challenge. I was being my usual fun guy to wrestle (no pinning). During the towel-off time, I got the idea to do the roll to a takedown. The details described by Chris were right on. This included trying to not let my opponent black out by slapping his face. Also, his son was his corner coach. No, not good. He blacked out for only a few moments, and said he was OK. But the required procedure was to still take him away on a back board with a neck brace. I probably should have been disqualified for trying that move.

The two younger aged masters champions both beat me, but I wrestled hard. The 35-40 division winner trained with Fox Catchers and with World Champ Dave Shultz. It's possible that mother didn't hang around with the boys to watch. Maybe they went to enjoy the Hershey Chocolate factory. That would have been far more enjoyable.

Yes, I recall the conversation with Betsy, (being a very bad example to my sons, especially coming all that way with 4 young boys). I'm sure the day didn't do much to get them to consider becoming wrestlers. Tournaments are long boring days of waiting and waiting and waiting.
 
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Story #2 – Cornering my father

For this story, I think I was around 10-12 years old. My dad loved to wrestle in AAU tournaments in the Open Division. I think he thought it was amusing for an old guy like him to wrestle and beat all the young guys. Also, I don’t think there were many tournaments that had an open division so it allowed him to still compete in the sport he loved. He didn’t want to go to the tournaments alone but there was no way my mother was going to drag all four sons to tournaments year after year. (see story #1 for evidence) So, my dad also saw these tournaments as a good opportunity to take one of his sons and have some special one-on-one bonding moments. This particular tournament was in Hughesville, PA and I was lucky enough to accompany him on this occasion.

Now, accompanying my dad didn’t mean I got to sit in the stands and play on a GameBoy (not that I had a GameBoy to play on). There were jobs and responsibilities. I had to keep track of the brackets and make sure he didn’t miss his match. I had to keep track of my dad as he tended to wander off and talk to every single other human at the event. And, I had to be his cornerman. During his matches, I got to be the person sitting in the coach’s chair holding his slightly sweaty old t-shirt and shorts. I was the only support he had but, luckily, providing instruction was unnecessary.

My dad had spent years and years honing his craft. As a result, like most athletes, he had developed his own habits and mannerisms. Wrestlers might adjust their singlets, kneepads, or headgear at every stoppage. They might stretch their necks side-to-side, shake out their arms, slap their thighs, etc. They might habitually touch the mat, touch their nose, adjust their singlet straps or crotch. Stuff like that. Well, one of my dad’s habits was to stick out his tongue. Occasionally, when he was about to attempt a technique sequence, his tongue would come out of his mouth à la Michael Jordan dunking from the foul line.

Well, you might have guessed it, but early in this particular match my father took a shot from space and met his opponents knee square on the bottom of his chin. And apparently his tongue was clinched between his teeth as he was doing so. He bit right through his tongue, nearly taking it off. But, in typical tough-it-out fashion, my father simply continued wrestling and swallowing blood until the match was over. I don’t even think I was aware of the injury until I followed my dad into the hallway to an old water fountain. That is where my dad was examining his tongue, which was sliced through with a large flap of skin hanging off exposing the underlying tissue. The white porcelain water fountain was covered in blood.

I’m pretty sure he and I were the only members of our family at the tournament. So, I’m sure he drove us home before he was “encouraged” by my mother to go to the hospital. I’m glad he didn’t pass out from blood loss or something. I’m not exactly sure how he got the tongue “fixed”, whether it required stitches or minor surgery or something. But, to this day, I don’t think he can taste anything with at least a portion of his tongue.
 
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Love these stories, Chris!

Randy was my coach only one year in Jr High. But no other coach made a bigger impact on me. He turned a sport that was mostly work into something that was fun! Nobody was better at getting his wrestlers through the mental part of the sport than he was.
 
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I recall that Randy Watts once reffed a match I wrestled in the finals of a Junior Olympics tournament somewhere in a little town in PA. The match went into quadruple overtime if I remember correctly. I kept getting a bloody nose and so the wrestling was constantly stopped for a nurse to run out and stick more (or (clean) cotton up my nose, which frustrated me because I wanted to keep going. I remember Watts maintaining good humor about the lengthy bout, which went on and on (but not as long as Fix vs. Suriano). I used to see Watts wrestle at Bloomsburg U. (and I think help out at their summer camps) and so recognized him as the official. He seemed (seems) like a cool guy.
 
Story #2 – Cornering my father – Dad’s perspective

I really enjoyed the memory letter # 2. I recall all you remembered and shared. The match was in the final against Eric ?, who was a coach at Benton and had a good high school career. He was very flexible and I even had his leg and foot over my shoulder, but could not get a takedown.

The match came down to over-time and eventually a ride-out to win. All that with a tongue cut all the way through. Note: This AAU championship was the same season that Jason Betz had won his first state championship at the end his freshman season. And he also won with a ride out in the finals.

When we got home, Mom said I should go to the hospital and get the cut stitched. I chose to try to put tape around the tongue to try to keep the cut flap in place and to heal overnight. The next morning the flap was not in a proper position, so off the hospital I went. I was told that surgery was now necessary because an open wound must have fresh sides to heal correctly and had waited too long. So, fresh sides were made and stitched together. And I went back a week later to have the stitches removed.

This may had been my 5th championship. The tournament was always on a Saturday and the next week you could advance to Shamokin to try to advance on to Eastern Nationals. The Shamokin Tournament was always on a Sunday, and I didn't like missing Church and competing on Sunday. The next Spring, I won AAU's at Mifflinburg and had a very interesting tournament, beating good kids. I talked to Mom about going on to Shamokin. I believe, you again were there and taped those matches. In the finals, I won 2-0 against a boy who wrestled at Lock Haven. The third period, he chose neutral, to not put me on top. So, I had to avoid being taken down to win. My age at that time was 46.

Eastern National was somewhere down in Virginia and I told them that I did not plan to advance, so another person could advance in my slot.

Four years later, I tried to win the AAU's at Hughesville at the age of 50. I lost in the final to a boy from Lycoming. That was my last wrestling tournament.

The cut experience was one of many times mother was right!!
 
I saw the title of this thread when it was first posted. At the time, my dad was really struggling with his health. I hoped at the time i wouldn’t have the need to post in this thread, as I seldom post. Well, my dad passed away this past Saturday. I lost my hero. My Dad didn’t want an obituary, he didn’t want a viewing. He was a private man, all about family. I don’t have any social media, but I’m comfortable enough here that I want to brag about him just one time.
Started wrestling when I was 6 years old, 1976. The same year the movie Rocky came out. Dad read in the paper about sign ups for wrestling and it took off from there! He never wrestled but was with me every step of the way. His best coaching advice was to have me do one handed pushups like Rocky when I was warming up. With that strategy, at 6/7 years old, I had most matches won before I stepped on the mat. I picked up on it very quick and had very good early results. Prior to the days of the internet, we would pick up the fliers on tables at tournaments to find other tournaments. We would travel anywhere. Being the only one from my club to go to these tournaments, Dad ended up being my coach. He never said a word in the corner, just always gave me that look of confidence. He always said his favorite thing to do was stand in front of the wall charts and listen to the conversations. It made his day when the parents of a kid I was wrestling next would see my name next to theirs sons and say, “ oh no!” He kept a journal of every match I ever wrestled. He would write up a summary of the match. I couldn’t wait to read what he would write. It was like I had my own newspaper reporter writing an article about all of my matches! My career continued to progress to the point where I was doing very well. Problem was, I was always in the same weight class as a future 4 time WPIAL champ. We went back and forth in our matches but he always beat me in the match to go to states. Finally, one year my Dad told me the morning of the finals that he was not going to go to the tournament that day. He told me that he felt as if him being there put too much pressure on me. I was devastated. Told him there was no way I could wrestle without him being there. He insisted. Well, to make a long story longer, I did it. When the ref raised my hand, I already had a lump in my throat. I came off the mat to a hug from my mom that would be Childlined in today’s world. I immediately asked her where the pay phone was! Throwing in a few quarters, I tried to compose myself as the phone rang. When he finally answered, all I could squeak out was, “Dad, I did it!” To this day, I never saw my dad shed a tear. Toughest man I’ve ever known. That day, on the phone, his fight to keep his voice from cracking was a battle for the ages. That was my Dad, sacrifice whatever he needed to.
So Dad graduated from PSU with a degree in Engineering, after serving 4 years in the Navy. He was on the carrier CVA-42, “The Rosie.” Till the day he passed, he was extremely proud of his service. I wanted to enlist in the Navy but he pushed me to pursue my dreams of being a college wrestler. I wasn’t nearly good enough to go to PSU so I wrestled at one of the only D1 schools that offered any money. He continued to be my biggest fan. After I graduated, we both went back to being die hard PSU fans.
Im still obviously trying to figure out how to live life without him. You never know how many times you think about your mom/dad until they are gone. We watched every PSU match together and the B1G and NCAA tourneys were the best time of year for us. Lots going through my mind right now about the upcoming season. I can’t wait to see how the season goes but hate to do it without Dad.
Thanks for giving me the platform to release some stress. Give your dads a call tonight and enjoy the conversation. As for the PSU season, as my dad would say, they need to “Kick Ass and Take Names!”
 
I saw the title of this thread when it was first posted. At the time, my dad was really struggling with his health. I hoped at the time i wouldn’t have the need to post in this thread, as I seldom post. Well, my dad passed away this past Saturday. I lost my hero. My Dad didn’t want an obituary, he didn’t want a viewing. He was a private man, all about family. I don’t have any social media, but I’m comfortable enough here that I want to brag about him just one time.
Started wrestling when I was 6 years old, 1976. The same year the movie Rocky came out. Dad read in the paper about sign ups for wrestling and it took off from there! He never wrestled but was with me every step of the way. His best coaching advice was to have me do one handed pushups like Rocky when I was warming up. With that strategy, at 6/7 years old, I had most matches won before I stepped on the mat. I picked up on it very quick and had very good early results. Prior to the days of the internet, we would pick up the fliers on tables at tournaments to find other tournaments. We would travel anywhere. Being the only one from my club to go to these tournaments, Dad ended up being my coach. He never said a word in the corner, just always gave me that look of confidence. He always said his favorite thing to do was stand in front of the wall charts and listen to the conversations. It made his day when the parents of a kid I was wrestling next would see my name next to theirs sons and say, “ oh no!” He kept a journal of every match I ever wrestled. He would write up a summary of the match. I couldn’t wait to read what he would write. It was like I had my own newspaper reporter writing an article about all of my matches! My career continued to progress to the point where I was doing very well. Problem was, I was always in the same weight class as a future 4 time WPIAL champ. We went back and forth in our matches but he always beat me in the match to go to states. Finally, one year my Dad told me the morning of the finals that he was not going to go to the tournament that day. He told me that he felt as if him being there put too much pressure on me. I was devastated. Told him there was no way I could wrestle without him being there. He insisted. Well, to make a long story longer, I did it. When the ref raised my hand, I already had a lump in my throat. I came off the mat to a hug from my mom that would be Childlined in today’s world. I immediately asked her where the pay phone was! Throwing in a few quarters, I tried to compose myself as the phone rang. When he finally answered, all I could squeak out was, “Dad, I did it!” To this day, I never saw my dad shed a tear. Toughest man I’ve ever known. That day, on the phone, his fight to keep his voice from cracking was a battle for the ages. That was my Dad, sacrifice whatever he needed to.
So Dad graduated from PSU with a degree in Engineering, after serving 4 years in the Navy. He was on the carrier CVA-42, “The Rosie.” Till the day he passed, he was extremely proud of his service. I wanted to enlist in the Navy but he pushed me to pursue my dreams of being a college wrestler. I wasn’t nearly good enough to go to PSU so I wrestled at one of the only D1 schools that offered any money. He continued to be my biggest fan. After I graduated, we both went back to being die hard PSU fans.
Im still obviously trying to figure out how to live life without him. You never know how many times you think about your mom/dad until they are gone. We watched every PSU match together and the B1G and NCAA tourneys were the best time of year for us. Lots going through my mind right now about the upcoming season. I can’t wait to see how the season goes but hate to do it without Dad.
Thanks for giving me the platform to release some stress. Give your dads a call tonight and enjoy the conversation. As for the PSU season, as my dad would say, they need to “Kick Ass and Take Names!”
This is a tremendous honor to read. I lost my dad 7 years ago and I’d be lying if I said it gets any easier. But soon your pain will be replaced by nothing but great memories. I’m confident you will see him again. Hug your family members close.
 
I saw the title of this thread when it was first posted. At the time, my dad was really struggling with his health. I hoped at the time i wouldn’t have the need to post in this thread, as I seldom post. Well, my dad passed away this past Saturday. I lost my hero. My Dad didn’t want an obituary, he didn’t want a viewing. He was a private man, all about family. I don’t have any social media, but I’m comfortable enough here that I want to brag about him just one time.
Started wrestling when I was 6 years old, 1976. The same year the movie Rocky came out. Dad read in the paper about sign ups for wrestling and it took off from there! He never wrestled but was with me every step of the way. His best coaching advice was to have me do one handed pushups like Rocky when I was warming up. With that strategy, at 6/7 years old, I had most matches won before I stepped on the mat. I picked up on it very quick and had very good early results. Prior to the days of the internet, we would pick up the fliers on tables at tournaments to find other tournaments. We would travel anywhere. Being the only one from my club to go to these tournaments, Dad ended up being my coach. He never said a word in the corner, just always gave me that look of confidence. He always said his favorite thing to do was stand in front of the wall charts and listen to the conversations. It made his day when the parents of a kid I was wrestling next would see my name next to theirs sons and say, “ oh no!” He kept a journal of every match I ever wrestled. He would write up a summary of the match. I couldn’t wait to read what he would write. It was like I had my own newspaper reporter writing an article about all of my matches! My career continued to progress to the point where I was doing very well. Problem was, I was always in the same weight class as a future 4 time WPIAL champ. We went back and forth in our matches but he always beat me in the match to go to states. Finally, one year my Dad told me the morning of the finals that he was not going to go to the tournament that day. He told me that he felt as if him being there put too much pressure on me. I was devastated. Told him there was no way I could wrestle without him being there. He insisted. Well, to make a long story longer, I did it. When the ref raised my hand, I already had a lump in my throat. I came off the mat to a hug from my mom that would be Childlined in today’s world. I immediately asked her where the pay phone was! Throwing in a few quarters, I tried to compose myself as the phone rang. When he finally answered, all I could squeak out was, “Dad, I did it!” To this day, I never saw my dad shed a tear. Toughest man I’ve ever known. That day, on the phone, his fight to keep his voice from cracking was a battle for the ages. That was my Dad, sacrifice whatever he needed to.
So Dad graduated from PSU with a degree in Engineering, after serving 4 years in the Navy. He was on the carrier CVA-42, “The Rosie.” Till the day he passed, he was extremely proud of his service. I wanted to enlist in the Navy but he pushed me to pursue my dreams of being a college wrestler. I wasn’t nearly good enough to go to PSU so I wrestled at one of the only D1 schools that offered any money. He continued to be my biggest fan. After I graduated, we both went back to being die hard PSU fans.
Im still obviously trying to figure out how to live life without him. You never know how many times you think about your mom/dad until they are gone. We watched every PSU match together and the B1G and NCAA tourneys were the best time of year for us. Lots going through my mind right now about the upcoming season. I can’t wait to see how the season goes but hate to do it without Dad.
Thanks for giving me the platform to release some stress. Give your dads a call tonight and enjoy the conversation. As for the PSU season, as my dad would say, they need to “Kick Ass and Take Names!”
I read your post with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face.
Beautiful post!
 
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