Why my Sports is my Passion
My name is Ezra Warren and my personal sports history seemingly began when I was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the late 80’s. I was born at the University of Oklahoma Memorial Hospital, and lived in the heart of Sooner Country in Norman, Oklahoma. Some of my first memories were watching fans tailgate across the street and hearing the roar of the crowd from just a few blocks away on fall Saturdays. Right around the time I was getting ready to start school, my father graduated from Oklahoma and my family then moved to Quincy, Illinois. We moved to Illinois in the Winter of 91/92, just in time for me to get familiar with an already well-known basketball player across the state of Illinois, one Michael Jeffrey Jordan, or simply M.J.
Growing up in Illinois, during the 90’s, it was nearly impossible not to be a Chicago Bulls fan but more specifically, an M.J fan. Every night my family would turn on the T.V, sit back, relax, and enjoy the spectacle that was Michael Jordan. As soon as I was old enough, I was playing pick-up games and joining local park and rec. leagues, I did anything and everything to play basketball. Yes, I played other sports as well, Soccer, Baseball, Track, Swimming, Cross Country, but nothing matched the passion I had for basketball. By the time I got into middle school, I finally made the tough decision to quit all other sports, simply to focus on basketball. Before I knew it, I had made the selective traveling QYBA basketball team, and in my first season we went 40-2. We eventually won the 6th grade state title and placed 3rd in 7th grade. Sadly, however, 7th grade would be my last year of playing championship level basketball in Illinois, as I found out that year I would be moving to Muscatine, Iowa to start 8th grade.
After moving to Iowa, my focus solely became basketball, which did work out for me in the short run. During my Freshman year of High School, I began to receive recruitment letters and pamphlets in the mail, and before I knew it I was getting scouted during practice, games, and even summer leagues. This was all too shortly lived however, as the day before my Junior Year began, I happened to suffer a brain hemorrhage and was rushed to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where I then underwent two separate brain surgeries. After my surgeries, I temporarily lost all movement in the right side of my body and subsequently also lost my ability to play sports at a competitive level.
This incident, although it was tough, has in a way set me on the course that I am on today. Who knows where I would be or what I would be doing had I never gotten injured. I may have played basketball in college, and gotten hurt anyway, or I may have started to become burnt out on basketball causing me to begin to hate the sport that I love. My injury also forced me to view to world from a perspective I had never viewed the world from before. It is because of this, that I have over the years seen the value that resides in recreation sports and opportunities and the good that they do, not only for the individuals who participate in these activities, but for the entire communities to which these services are provided.
Yes, for many including myself, professional sports remain the pinnacle within the sports industry. However, to first get the initial spark ignited, every athlete needs a platform to begin and learn. Many times, outdoor activities and recreational opportunities provide this platform. One of the main things I have come to realize, in-thanks to my injury, is that not everyone can play sports, or wants to play sports at the highest level of competition. Sports is something, that at times can be reserved for only the most talented, but it is also something that should be enjoyed and participated in by all who wish to do so, and that is when recreational sporting opportunities come into play. This is something I feel very passionately about and I am excited for what the future of recreational sports will offer, and couldn’t be happier with my major.