My Biggest Fan

There have been many people who have come to see me play throughout the course of my life including family, friends and acquaintances.  Despite this fact there has always been one fan who has come whenever possible and always enjoys himself easily taking the "Biggest fan" tag from anybody else.  I am speaking of my cousin Joey.  Joey is 45 years old with Downs Syndrome and has been coming to my sporting events since I was 8 years old.  There is never a moment that he gets down or negative about what is happening in the game.  He has come to wrestling matches, football games, baseball games and basketball games as well as others.

He has been there all the way through, asking when my next game was going to be every time I see him.  Sometimes he asks numerous times (i.e. 10-15 times) in a relatively short amount of time.  This doesn't bother me because I understand that he thrives on coming to see me play and will bother my Aunt Carol until they are able to make it out.

Every time he makes it out to a game and I turn my head and see both Joey and my Aunt I can't help but crack a smile.  I know that he doesn't have much to give and comes because he enjoys to watch the game but I can't help but feel differently.  I have found over my years of seeing Joey in the stands that I can never give to him what he has given to me.  He has believed in me all of my life and given me an appreciation for the skills that I possess to continue playing the sports that I love.  I might refer to him as "My Biggest Fan" but in reality I am his biggest fan.