It really isn't a surprise that Rocco has become fascinated with basketball. What with Rob and I being passionate players ourselves (okay, maybe I am more passionate than Rob - we play every Sunday at RFM). Within the last month, he has made it a point to join us at RFM so he could try shooting in a real court as opposed to his 7-foot goal at home. When he found out that some UAAP games are played at the Phil. Sports Arena (which is 5 minutes away from our house), he excitedly asked if he could watch a live game and see his idol, Jayvee Casio .
Yesterday was La Salle's game against UP and so we trekked to the ULTRA to have Rocco witness his first UAAP game - live. You could see the excitement in his eyes, even if at times he was trying to conceal it. La Salle won of course, but it didn't matter what the score was, it was enough that he got to see his idol and the rest of the players plus sing the Alma Mater song. He even imitated the players as they prepared to take free throws. As a parent, I was so happy just to see him beam with joy. It's one of those proud Mama moments. You never know how this will affect his life later on.
I haven't been to a UAAP game since the La Salle-Ateneo game last year(which La Salle lost). Fortunately for us, most games this season are played at the Phil. Sports, but tickets are still hard to come by. These are the times I miss the perks of being on the women's team - free access to the playing venues and most especially, joining the team dinners after their game. Those were some of THE best times!
You might wonder why out of all the games, we chose the vs. UP game -- well, we also wanted to enjoy the halftime show of UP. They always put on an entertaining show. Where will you find the spectators of the opposing team cheering for the UP dancers? That just shows how talented and entertaining they are.
The next game was UE vs. FEU. Rocco was in awe just watching Elmer Espiritu of UE make one dunk after another during the round robin, but he lost interest once the game started. We headed home after the 1st quarter (watched the rest of the game on TV, and boy! what a game it was!). Rocco is hoping to watch another game and no way are we going to deny that request. To see the same excitement in his eyes will be well worth it.
