This blog has a happy, hopeful, and fun ending. But first, true confessions:

I live in New England and the Patriots are my least favorite team. Why? Because they are cheaters and they have cheated more than once and they never even had to cheat in order to become champions. (Please note: By calling this a true confession, I am admitting to knowingly having committed a sin. I know it is a sin to doubt the integrity of the NE Patriots, especially if one lives in New England.)

Does this mean I think it’s okay to cheat sometimes if that’s the only way to become a champion? Yes. I think it’s okay to cheat sometimes. I will, in fact, look the other way if cheating allows you to achieve something you otherwise might not have achieved because you weren’t given a fair chance from the get go. For instance, I think it’s okay that some women have cheated by using a man’s name in place of their own name so that their writing would be considered for publication. I also thought it was okay for Gloria Steinem to cheat and became a Playboy Bunny (even though she never wanted to be a champion bunny) in order to investigate how women were being treated in Hugh Hefner’s clubs.

I’ve done some cheating in my life, too. And, of course, since I am the writer of this blog, I will choose to share one of my more charming cheating stories:

One sunny spring day, my fourth grade teacher made me skip recess so that I could administer a spelling test to students who were continually failing spelling tests. I was annoyed I had to miss recess. Soon, my pain was replaced by the pain of my classmates who not only had to miss recess, but would continue to miss recess until they learned how to spell. One doesn’t realize how one will handle positions of power until they are placed within such vainglorious places. I had been chosen by my teacher to stand as a leader (preferably an honest leader) before students in an American public school classroom and to administer a spelling test to those students. (My peers.) Indeed, in front of me sat a handful of bad spellers with papers, pencils, and wistful stares which never looked at me, but were bound instead for the world beyond the classroom windows where all the good spellers enjoyed the privileges of romping in sunshine and fresh air on a playground. Behind me loomed the chalkboard with beautiful, fresh, long white pieces of chalk. (All students, back then, lived for any opportunity to write upon the chalkboard.) So, I called the classroom to order and commenced announcing the spelling words. The students didn’t furiously begin writing the words onto their papers. So I said, “Raise your hand if you don’t know how to spell the words and I will write them on the chalkboard.” As you can imagine, this established me as a great leader. Everyone passed the test; we all returned to the regular schedules of recesses; and poor spellers were never denied equal access to recess again.

Fast rewind back to the true confessions beginning of this blog. If the Patriots aren’t my favorite team, which New England team is? That would be the UConn Huskies WOMEN’S Basketball team. They are not, as some male sportswriters claim, boring to watch. They play basketball with artistry, finesse, and athletic excellence in harmony with true teamwork. The universe will never again bring forth a greater organized group of women athletes. Soon to come—UConn’s 100th straight victory. After UConn, I like the Celtics (LOVED the Larry Bird era), the Red Sox, and then the Bruins. Sports are fun in the scrappy city of Boston and the fan base is wide ranging. The rivalries are energizing, too. Here’s a pic from the immigration line as my family was entering the US after traveling through Oaxaca, Mexico. I don’t know if these two hombres were good or bad or legal or just passing through, but they obviously could deal with their differences and probably enjoy one of the most enduring rivalries in American sports: (In case you can’t see, it’s a Red Sox cap chillin with a Yankees cap.)

My differences with the New England Patriots have created a lot of great discussions with my family and friends. We all know that when it comes to cheating and being caught and being punished and being superstars, things can get unfair. But then—

The Trump thing landed in deeply blue New England. The leaders and the star quarterback of a team called the Patriots in New England were outed as fans of the new president. Ick. Ick. Ick! But not surprising.

What to do?

My daughter (a Trump disliker and total Boston sports fan and all-around awesome kid) reminded me: “Mom. Don’t judge a whole team by the political views of some. Don’t judge the entire NFL by the bad behavior of some. And don’t judge a person’s whole life by their political views.”  And then she did what I suppose I might have taught her to do—she expanded my consciousness by bringing to light something good.

“Martellus Bennett,” she said, “will not be going to the White House with the team to celebrate their Super Bowl victory.” That’s nothing unusual—Tom Brady didn’t go to Obama’s White House. Larry Bird refused a visit to the White House. So did many other sports superstars.

Nevertheless, I decided to see if I could find out why Bennett had chosen to protest Trump. What I found (via Internet postings, a Forbes article, and Bennett’s Twitter) was that Martellus Bennett appears to be a pretty cool and obviously fun man who doesn’t want to be defined as “just an athlete” or someone useful for promoting the products of other companies or someone without a strong moral base or someone without a voice.

Bennett wants to be the product he promotes and what he promotes is imagination.

WIN!

His company is The Imagination Agency (www.theimaginationagency.com) and he is the Creative Director of Awesomeness. Bennett was inspired by his love for his daughter to create a black female protagonist in picture books—a protagonist with all the freedoms to dream and imagine adventures the way many white kids grow up so freely imagining such things. When Bennett was young, he wanted to be Willy Wonka. He also wanted to go to Hogwarts. One of his favorite quotes is from author Ursula Le Guin: The creative adult is the kid who survived.

From Bennet’s website: The Imagination Agency is a wondrous group of monsters and imaginary friends tasked with creating, drawing, writing, and imagining fantastical adventures for kids all over the world.

According to the heartfelt beliefs of Martellus Bennett, you can have more than one dream. He has always been an artist—drawing, making films, animating, writing—and he claims that, “Every day I wake up a new me. I go to sleep in a cocoon and wake up a new beautiful butterfly.” Pretty fluttery sentiments for a man who is 6’6′ and weighs 270 pounds! Bennett wants his daughter and all children from all backgrounds to grow up learning how to let their imaginations run wild. He wants to inspire a sense for unlimited adventure.

It all sounds so wonderful doesn’t it? Lots of WINS!

Bennett’s Imagination Agency also features the HugFootballMartyPillow on their site and a campaign to “Spread the Hugs.” The pillows can be purchased for children undergoing heart surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital and are used to alleviate pain by giving the children something to hug when they have to cough after surgery in order to keep their lungs clear. For every ONE pillow purchased, ANOTHER pillow is donated to a child recovering from heart surgery. WIN WIN!

(BTW—when the scrappy Boston fans call Martellus, Mahty, it only makes him feel more at home.)

Imagination is a powerful, powerful, powerful attribute to respect, honor, and develop. We can use our imaginations in good and bad ways. It is always refreshing and restorative to discover the ways people are using their imaginations in positive ways to create a better world for ALL children from ALL backgrounds.

Bennett says, “Football is not something I can hand over to my kids. Creativity lasts forever.”

And now for some Friday Fun entertainment. Here’s Martellus Bennett in an animated story of the time he saved a fan falling over a railing. Bennett says he is just your friendly neighborhood superhero and he has actually saved several lives. “People need me. I am there for the people.”

If the video fails to work on this blog—just go to youtube and search for “Martellus Bennett saving a fan.” The video is funny, the animated art is great, and you might get inspired to awaken the adventures and superheroes inside your own imagination.

All wins.

I dedicate this blog to my daughter. Thank you for keeping the conversations going. You have always been about LOVE and I was so proud to use your childhood artwork to make my sign for the Women’s March.