Baby Race Excitement

The big day arrived, and Mommy and Daddy couldn't sleep. With the help of a little middle-of-the-night fussing, Michiyo and I were awake around 3 a.m. Around 4:30 a.m., we both looked at each other, and asked, "You're still awake?" I told her, "I'm kind of excited about the Baby Race." She laughed, agreed, and somehow we got to sleep for a few more minutes until our racer woke up.

Nothing brings people together like a group of babies crawling around for five minutes. Because of the Billiken Baby Race at halftime that Hiroki was competing in, the entire Fingerhut clan was coming, and bringing a big crew: Not just Papa Joe and Mama Julie (or PJ & MJ, as christened by soon-to-be in-law Mike), but Lynn & Rob, Mark, Katie & Mike, plus a few dozen family and friends that had let us know they would be in the stands cheering Hiro on.

Before halftime, Michiyo, Hiroki and I joined eight other families, grabbed Uncle Mark (to be the cameraman), and headed into a back room to have the ground rules laid out.

Mark led the way.

The rules were pretty simple: one parent at each end, at no time could a parent approach or touch their kid to assist them unless at the very end and permission was given, and there would be no disqualification for babies moving out of their lanes or off the mat. The mood in the room, with a bunch of smiling parents and a few grandparents, was light and happy--kind of like that first lap around Babies R Us when you find out you're gonna be a parent, before you get stressed by the obnoxious number of insignificant but desirable accessories and trinkets.

We had Hiro decked out in a St. Louis Rams onesie, then slipped a red St. Louis Cardinals sweatband around his head, and headed out to the court. Hiroki was assigned Lane 1, and Michiyo joined all the other Mommies at the finish line; the Dads held the kids at the start, about 30 feet of racing mat between parents. Funny, we all knew the best strategy: the Dads provided moral support, while the Moms waved the baits and bribes of balls, blankets, and in Michiyo's case, the Hooter Hider (that's actually the brand name of a cloth-and-wire contraption that hides the baby for public breast-feeding). We hoped that the lure of a potential feeding opportunity would trump all other motivations, and draw Hiro to the finish line like a moth to a flame.

The contestants were introduced over the speakers while an adorable picture graced the Jumbotron. I think Michiyo was most thrilled about that, and remains hopeful that someone snapped a photo of it.

The race started, and after a few seconds, Hiroki squirted out a few feet, and the crowd roared. He veered left, blatantly crossing a bunch of lanes, boldly exploring this new, empty surface alone, then came to a stop. Hilariously, no other kids had left the gate. He turned and located Mommy, then an interesting twist took place. One of the other Moms, like Michiyo, was holding a basketball. Somehow, she fumbled it away, and it rolled to Hiro. He picked it up immediately, and was content.

Without giving away the big finish, here's the race from start to end:

If I had put big money down on my son, I probably would have been yelling at someone, but this was so much fun, everybody on the court and in the stands was laughing, including Michiyo and I. One other little guy came crawling toward Hiro, then another little boy realized where his Mom was, and made a beeline to her, claiming first place. Hiro began tossing the ball and chasing it down, eventually making it to the finish line and placing second. Michiyo and I greeted him with big hugs and smiles.

The SLU people did a great job with this event, from gift bags to certificates.

Afterward, the mascot(s) joined us for a group shot.

Michiyo and I had never asked about prizes or anything, we were thrilled that Hiro could participate, and happy that the gift bag included a Billiken onesie, a bib, and a gift card. We were very pleasantly surprised when we were asked to sign papers to receive a $500 Savings Bond in Hiroki's name. Michiyo had two reactions: first, she said, "He's made more money than I have this year!" followed by, "We need to find more baby races."In all the excitement, I barely had time to enjoy the game, which turned out to be pretty good. SLU and University of Massacheusetts played a tightly contested game, pulling out a 69-64 victory. We heard the final score in my Dad's car, with Papa Joe driving and Hiro completely zonked out. Another great night, and another set of great memories!

Note: If you haven't seen Hiro's training montage, go to Youtube and look for "Baby Race Rocky."