Me and the Bug had fun on Sunday afternoon. By Owen Main

Cal Poly women’s basketball lost a tough game yesterday. On a Sunday, in their last home game before a three-day road trip, the Mustangs fell in a tight overtime contest to Saint Mary’s 65-64.

The real story for me though: my 16 month-old daughter made it almost the entire game.

There was a 2-for-1 ticket special for daughters and fathers attending and I thought that 2:00pm on a Sunday afternoon would be a great time to give mom a break. So the Bug and I headed to campus to see whether she was ready for the big-time.

I tried this last year. At the age of about 5 months, the Bug went with me in a front-pack. Her precious baby ears lasted until the first horn. Then the band played a song. Then she started crying and didn’t stop ’til we were well-clear of Mott.

This year, the horn startled her, but she got over it quickly. She pointed at the bright video boards. She pointed and talked as the lead changed hands multiple times throughout the first half. I’m pretty sure she was telling the Mustangs not to turn it over so much and to have their hands ready for quick passes in the lane.

By halftime, the Bug was getting squirrelly. We needed to flee dad’s lap and take a little walk. With the help of JD Scroggin, she found the rack of basketballs and began helping herself. “Ball” is one of the few words she knows and can speak intelligibly. The Bug took the ball, which was much bigger than her head, and ran around, bouncing it to me and JD. At one point, she changed directions like Ariana Elegado and started to get around me towards the court. She has a lot lower center of gravity.

We made it until there were about six minutes left in the game. Cal Poly had a solid lead, but Saint Mary’s was starting to make a run. The Bug had a wet diaper and no longer wanted to sit in the confines of a seat at Mott. She needed to be free, so we left. It was a successful trip to a basketball game, which makes me really excited for the years to come.

Of course, I’ll love my daughter whether she likes watching sports with her dad or not. So far, though, she does. Whether it’s football on TV, basketball at Mott, or baseball at Baggett, the Bug seems to have enjoyed our few introductory sports outings.

Will we continue to enjoy them together? Well, we won’t lack for opportunities… .