I know exactly how lucky I've been the last 20 years

People often ask themselves: "Where does the time go?" I've asked myself that question thousands of times.

I don't, however, wonder where the last 20 years have gone. No, I know exactly what I've spent the last 20 years doing. I've spent them with my wife, my best friend, with the person who has put up with me and had my back like no other. That's the last 20 years for me.

Yes, it was 20 years ago today that I married Amy. Better yet, it was 20 years ago today that she married me. That's the right way to put it, because I'm the lucky one.

I'm lucky in so many ways, because, before Amy came into my life, I really didn't put anyone or anything ahead of sports. Whether it was following pro and college sports, playing things like golf, tennis and softball, or pursuing my profession as a sports writer, that was it for me, it was 24/7.

Now, those of you who have been married long enough, you know it can't be that way in a marriage. You can't put sports, hobbies or whatever, above all else. But that's why I am so lucky, at least one of the million reasons why I am — Amy not only understands who I was as it pertains to sports, but, as time has gone on, has grown to be a part of my crazy world, and for that, I will forever be grateful to her.

Yes, my wife became a huge and crazy Griz fan, and the eventually, she added really enjoying watching college football and my Tar Heels basketball, too. The more she loved golf, the more she understood Tiger Woods, and for many, many of his milestones and magical moments as a pro, she watched right there with me. Hell, we were on our way to Hawaii on our honeymoon when Tiger famously beat Bob May in the playoff at Valhalla for the PGA Championship that year, and the pilot announced it to the plane. And that was just the beginning.

The fact of the matter is that, Amy has shared so many special sports moments with me. She has seen how much Griz football meant to me, and she has experienced the devastating lows of caring so much about it. She's sat through the coldest games in Montana football history. Yeah, she gets it.

She's watched as my favorite teams win, like the NCAA championships my Tar Heels have racked up, but she's also been there to experience the pain of losing, like how the Vikings never, ever win the Super Bowl.

Of course, back to the winning, she's also experienced the ultimate emotion. I am a lifelong Cubs fan, so of course, she became one, too. She didn't fully understand the heart of a Cub's fan until they won the World Series in 2016. She shared that emotional cry with me, in what was one of the greatest sporting moments of my life.

Yeah, she understands how personal this stuff is to me. It's why, without knowing much about tennis, she embraced it and has essentially became the Havre High tennis team mom. And I'm quite certain 99 percent of the kids I've coached over the years like her better than they ever did me. All of our labs have, so why not the kids too?

Having said that, I should take this time to tell her just how much it means to me that she’s a coach’s wife. I know it isn't easy. Tennis season is long, we're not just gone for a two or three hour game. A typical high school tennis tournament is on the bus at 5 a.m. and we don't get back to town till midnight. And yet, she's supported it every step of the way. I've been the coach at HHS for almost as long as we've been married, and she's been right there with me. Amy is a proud Blue Pony alumni anyway, but for the last 19 years, she's been a Blue Pony tennis wife, and just saying those words makes me so proud, and so emotional.

Now, I know everything I've just said, I know it's not mushy and it's not romantic. And don't misunderstand, sports do not define our marriage. Of course, there's much more to it than that. The point is, though, I'm expressing the fact that I'm the lucky one in all this. Not only did Amy love me for who I am, she's always allowed me to be who I am, even when it's not romantic and it's not all sunshine and rainbows because that's sports, and that's marriage. The point of all this is, I know how lucky I am.

I'm lucky to have such an amazing and supportive wife, but it's way beyond that, I'm lucky to have Amy become my best friend and actually want to share this crazy sports life with me. I know it hasn't always been easy, and that's obvious because look where we are on our anniversary, in the middle of a freaking global pandemic that pretty much forced us to cancel what was going to be a summer-long celebration of being married for 20 years. And while it sucks, it's OK, because I still have her. No Griz football this fall? That's OK, too, because I have my wife of 20 years. Probably no college basketball this winter, at least not in the ways we're used to? That's alright because I have Amy to help me get through it, just like she helped me get through the loss of last tennis season.

That's right, for the last 20-plus years, I've had my wife through the highs and lows of sports, and life in general. And while I say it every single day, today of all days, I just want you to know, Amy, I want everybody to know — I'm the lucky one. I'm so lucky I'm married to you. Thank you for putting up with me, and thank you for being you.

Happy 20th anniversary.