Close Encounters of the Caitlin Kind

Note: With basketball season upon us, I thought this story by Aimee Gauley of Ft. Madison apropos. Aimee Gauley took my Creative Writing class a few years ago and has since blossomed into a published author, screenwriter, and actress. Her book, “Hunter and Prey: When the Stalker Becomes the Stalked” (a must read) is available on Amazon.

by Aimee Gauley

My husband has a lifelong affliction. He has learned to live with it better than I have. He becomes selectively deaf and blind when sports are on. If there is a game on, the room could explode around him and he won’t notice until commercial break. I know there are millions of spouses who suffer through this with me. I see you. Occasionally I pull rank and shut the TV off, a rare occurrence. The most notable example was while our son was literally being born and I clicked off Sports Center. His head whipped back to me as I was trying to control my breathing. He said, “I thought I could watch it between contractions.” Nope. His brain doesn’t fire on all cylinders when sports are involved.

His dream was for our son to be as passionate about sports as he is. We encourage this by taking Bodhi to as many games as we can. We try to get autographs and usually do, a shameless ploy that has realized my husband’s dream of raising a hard core sports fan.

Not everything is harmonious, though. My husband is an Illini fan and lifelong sworn enemy of my team, the Hawkeyes. It can be hard, but we make it work. That changed with Caitlin Clark. He was totally in, watching every game like it was his job. My husband justified his newfound obsession with Hawkeye basketball by saying he still dislikes the men’s team and the women’s team wasn’t the enemy. I smirk at this and roll my eyes.

It was the Big10 men’s regular season finale and Illinois was traveling to Iowa City. Unbeknownst to me, my husband bought tickets. Finding tickets behind the Illini bench wasn’t easy, and there were only 2 available. He offered to let me take Bodhi, but I knew that would be wrong. So, they headed off to the game without me. I was a little mad. Luckily it was televised, and I watched like a hawk (see what I did there?) from home, scouring the audience for a glimpse of my boys. My flurry of texts were soon ignored. Sports. Near the end of the first half it was announced that Caitlin Clark and several of her teammates had arrived. The women’s team had just won the Big Ten title over Nebraska in overtime. They hopped on a plane and got there in time to cheer on the men’s team. WOW! I texted my husband. Still no response.

Seated near my husband was the father of Illini player, Marcus Domask. My husband explained they wanted to get autographs, but security had announced that the players would not be available after the game. Mr. Domask told my husband the players would be in the tunnel afterward and invited them to join the families! Illinois won and everyone was clearing out. My boys stuck with their new friend and soon found themselves in the tunnel where the players exit to their bus. My husband turned and was instantly struck dumb. Caitlin Clark (and her security) were walking toward them. My husband had lost the ability to talk or think, probably another medical condition. At that point, an old lady (not my words, how it was told to me) came running up next to them and said, “Caitlin, can I get a picture?” Ms. Clark graciously obliged, and my husband and son were now standing right next to THE Caitlin Clark. Most people would have asked if she would take a picture with them, at least with the kid, but my husband was speechless. She left. The Illinois players came and Bodhi got autographs and pictures. But not with Caitlin Clark. My husband was standing next to the player who made him a Hawkeye fan and he didn’t even get a picture.

He called me on the way home. I told him she had been there. He said he didn’t want to talk about it. Whenever I tell this story I point out if I had been there we would have gotten her picture and autograph. They agree. Now, we always get three tickets.

Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com. Curt is available for public speaking.