You can't avoid news about the blockbuster movie New Moon, and it has now intruded in my sports life. My Lakers season seat partner informed me just prior to last Thursday's game against the Chicago Bulls that he thought he and I needed to take separate cars to the event.
I couldn't compute that and I asked him why. Well, he said, his daughter had to make the midnight opening show of New Moon at a theater in their town and he was needed to babysit the younger two of his kids. This would allow his wife to take their daughter and her friends to the show.
The Lakers game was televised that evening on TNT and when that happens the games start late and run long due to the station breaks and added commercials that broadcast on that network throughout the game.
If he and I stayed until the end, even if it didn't get into overtime he wouldn't be able to perform his fatherly duties. What happened to the babysitter, I asked. Oh, she canceled at the last minute, he informed me.
Now you might be reading this and wonder why I am making a fuss about it. Despite the opinion of many, some of us who reside in the City of Angels don't arrive late and leave early, even occasionally. That best describes me and my Lakers pal.
I can count on one hand the times we've had to do that in 11 years of faithfully attending games. So it wasn't like we had never had to discuss the possibility but the last time was so long ago I had no recollection of it. That's why it was surprising to me.
Needless to say, when I wrapped my arms around his dilemma and how his daughter was counting on him I told him that I would leave early with him, go home, watch the rest of the game that I would record on my DVR and be no worse for the wear and tear.
Now it was his turn to be stunned since he never expected that answer. But the truth is that we all have that one big memory of our parents rising to an occasion we never dreamed they would. And a midnight show on a school night for 15 year-olds who are obsessed with the storyline is one of those times for my friend's daughter.
As a woman who writes about sports and watches more events than she'd like to admit, this was a clear departure from the norm. But hey, even I can understand the Twilight phenomenon. Although I haven't bought a ticket and won't, I feel like I helped the box office numbers for this first weekend and the Lakers won their game, so all in all it was a good night.