And he loved the Diamondbacks.

And he loved ASU football, baseball and basketball.

He loved sports – all of them.

On our family trip to Spain to celebrate his college graduation, Davey and his dad got up in the middle of the night to watch a baseball game on TV from back in the States.  There’s no doubt in my mind where Davey picked up his love for all sports.  They even watched soccer in Spain (since it was about the only sport on TV there) even though Davey and his dad never had too many good things to say about soccer.

Davey’s main sport in High School was basketball but he also played a lot of baseball in his younger years.  He loved football but I didn’t let him play – too dangerous, too many injuries.  He reminded me often that I threw a ‘mom flag’ on that one and I always smiled.  I still think it was a good call.

He loved to watch football and became a huge Cardinal’s fan when they moved to town.  We had season tickets in the end zone for the first

several years after the Cardinals moved to Arizona when they played in the ASU stadium.  It wasn’t until the Cardinals moved to their Glendale Stadium that Davey became super-serious about tailgating.  One of his birthdays fell on a game day during those first years at the Glendale Stadium so we tailgated for his birthday.   He liked ASU Football as well and tailgated there sometimes but his dedication to the Cardinals was at an almost-obsessed level.

His tailgating crowd kept growing and moving and changing through the years.  More and more tailgating gear got added to his collection in the garage.  The number of season tickets in the group continued to grow along with the various people who owned and shared those tickets. He always

had the newest and best jerseys even though I think they busted one of the guys who tried to sell them knock-offs?  Does anybody know the real story on that one?

The away-game trip became a tradition and was meticulously planned months ahead of time.

Davey was much more concerned about what kind of whiskey to bring to the game than what kind of food.  They only had 4 hours to tailgate so it was important to get started on time.

It was about the game but – even more – it was about the people.

He loved to bring his family with him – his dad was often in the car with him as they rolled into the stadium 4 hours early.  Davey regularly asked the rest of us to go and his sister always had a ticket when she was in town.

He loved to have fun with his friends – old, new and those he hadn’t met yet.  As soon as he became a Policeman, he had a whole new group of people to invite and many of his brothers and sisters in blue also started coming.  His goal was to get everyone mingling and having a great time together.

He loved to play games with friends and family, joke and laugh and make great memories.

Add in a Cardinals football game and life was perfect!

He wouldn’t be too excited about the Super Bowl Game today because the Cardinals aren’t in it.

But he would be excited about spending time with his family and friends.

Let’s raise a Coors Light or a shot of whiskey together today while we share some great memories!

Dave would love it!

#8144loveyou

#fallenbutnotforgotten