From Big Daddy Autism: Sports! (Sort Of.)
Big Daddy is not a big “sports” guy. I don’t play them for reasons that should be fairly obvious to even the most casual reader. I don’t follow sports on TV either. This is most likely because I grew up being a Jets, Mets, and Knicks fan. Other than a brief moment in October of 1986, this was pure, unadulterated, torture. So, sometime around 1990, I quit.
Except for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). I watch the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce – you name it. If there is a chance someone’s head is going to be split open, I’m there. I think MMA is sporting at its best. Hand to hand combat without a whole lot of stupid rules or silly stuff like, say, teamwork.
In light of my love of this sport, I was thrilled last holiday season when Griffin’s Hanukkah and Christmas (yeah we celebrate both) Lists included “wrestlers”. Close enough! I made sure he got all the action figures for all my favorite fighters. I did a lot of grunting, scratching, and spitting when I filled my cart with my tattooed idols.
There’s not much pretend ground and pound or dirty boxing, but I do get to hear Chuck “The Ice Man” Liddell talk endlessly with George St. Pierre about the weather and elevator videos.
Hey, it’s imaginative play by an autistic kid, right? Even if they aren’t in the same weight division they can still talk about Griffin’s newest obsession, traffic lights!
(Flickr image by tubedogg)
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