A Father's Day Reflection

Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

One of the beautiful aspects about writing for Nerds That Geek is the freedom to write about the things we enjoy. As nerds, geeks, or fans, we all have stuff we’re passionate about. Books, movies, sports, shows, whatever. Some of those things we stumbled upon ourselves, but many of them were ‘gifted’ to us, and that makes them even more important. The bonds and stories that go with them give us shared experiences that make them even more meaningful, all thanks to the people we share them with.
 
I wanted to do something special to commemorate the holidays that celebrate those people in our lives by writing pieces about them on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Grandparent’s Day. To keep things rolling in honor of my dad Zeke Sr., here is the second of those articles!
 
One of the biggest pieces of my identity, if you ask just about anyone, is that I’m a die-hard Denver sports fan. And that’s one thing that I most love sharing with my dad. Some of my earliest memories are games with him; sitting at a Rockies game on a bright, blue-skied spring day or getting the stands rocking during a cold winter’s Broncos game at the old Mile High Stadium. We’ve gone to countless games for a variety of sports over the years. From basketball all the way to arena football and including every sport in between. He taught me everything I know about baseball and football, and I’ve gotten to introduce him to hockey and lacrosse. No matter what sport it is, we have a good time together.

​He taught me that you stick with your team and back them 100 percent, no matter what. Even when they suck. (We’ve spent a lot of time talking about our teams doing poorly, unfortunately.)
We always look forward to ringing in the new football year with an annual trip to the Broncos season opener and we support them through thick and thin.
 
I’ve always been extremely proud of my dad’s successes as a boxer. He’s a Colorado Golden Gloves champion and he did a number of amazing things in the ring in his day. I’ve cherished getting together with family to watch pay-per-view bouts, listening to my dad passionately calling the fights as he saw them. I developed an appreciation for the finer points of boxing through him.
 
Speaking of boxing, that sets up an easy transition into my next point: movies. Specifically, the Rocky movies. If there’s someone who has seen Rocky well over 100 times, it’s my dad. That’s his go-to movie, one that he never gets tired of (to the point where I’m sure my mom wants to hide the DVDs). He got me into Rocky, all the sequels, and thus the Creed spinoff. I’ll watch any of them whenever they’re on, almost as rabidly as he will.
 
My dad also handed down his ability to cry at movies. There have been several times at the theater where my mom’s been seated between us, passing us tissues as we bawl at the end of a movie. That trait has stuck with me and I’ve cried at my fair share of movies.
 
A very important thing my dad showed me early on, but took a lot longer for me to understand, was a sense of identity. He’s a big fan of Selena, La Bamba, and Blood In, Blood Out, just to name a few Chicano movies we frequently watched. When we’d see a Latino athlete or actress, my dad would cheer a little harder for them. I never understood why he gave them that preference. But as I got older, I realized there’s a big lack of Latino representation in the media, and it’s important to cherish it when we do get it. My dad has shown me how to appreciate and understand both sides of my Mexican-American heritage. Just as Selena’s dad taught her in the movie, ‘we have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time! It's exhausting!’
 
Something that I really hope I got from my dad is his work ethic. He’s always been the hardest working person I have ever known. No matter what job he’s taken on, he always rises up the ranks and becomes known for giving it everything he’s got. All of his peers and supervisors respect him. He taught me to take pride in my work, whether I was doing chores around the house or working my first job. If I ever manage to have even a tenth of my dad’s hustle, I’ll be just fine. Thanks for teaching me to work hard and be tough, thanks for supporting me and coaching me, and thanks for being my sports buddy. I love you, dad! Happy Father’s Day.