Too Much Information

Last night as I was flipping channels I came across a soccer tournament. I most definitely did not stop to watch. I've just never gotten into soccer. However, every time I see a match on tv I think about my mom.

My mom has been a lifelong soccer fan. Her youngest brother played for a team in Honduras. I think this is how we fall in love with something. Someone we care about is involved in an activity, so we attend their events. A fondness for the activity just seems natural. (It's marching bands for me.)

I knew my mom liked soccer, but only recently did I realize she loves soccer.

When my mom started dating my father, going to soccer matches was definitely one of the things they did together. In fact, when my mom was seven months pregnant she was still attending matches.

I'm not surprised because I remember while we were growing up she watched televised matches; specifically the FIFA World Cup. The World Cup only runs every four years during the summer and since its location changes sometimes the matches are televised late at night or early in the morning. My brother and I would be on summer vacation and we'd be woken up by the sound of adults screaming at the tv. It was startling, and it was annoying.

The FIFA World Cup is set up like most tournaments. There's a bracket and you have to keep track of what happens in all of the matches to know who is going to move to the next round. You also have to track the point table. During the last World Cup I realized my mom was keeping track of the bracket and point table . . . in her head.

To say that I was impressed would be an understatement.

My dad was watching the matches, but I think he was just watching each match. Meanwhile, my mom had this computer in her brain telling her who had how many wins and losses and what this meant for the teams she was watching play.

My mom always undersells her intelligence. And this was a great reminder of what a smart cookie she is. Two years later I still can't sort out the point system.