Thank you so much to everyone who submitted a memory and photo entry over the past month as part of my 2021 Father’s Day Giveaway. We received far more entries this year than last year and each story was more touching than the last. This annual giveaway is my favorite thing to do as it allows me to see how many people have shared connections with their dads thanks to sports.
I wish I could have created a design for every single entry. Since I connect on social medial with many of the people who enter, I remove myself completely from the voting process to avoid any bias and with the help of people closest in my life determine the winner. There were 8 people who voted on the submissions, 4 family members and 4 friends, with a mix of men and women, aged 16 through 69.
Although there were several memories that could have easily won, one stood out the most in capturing the spirit of the giveaway through photo and written entry. “I really connected with this story as someone who waited a lifetime to visit my favorite stadium and catch a game with my dad.” as one judge put it.
"I really connected with this story as someone who waited a lifetime to visit my favorite stadium and catch a game with my dad"
Congratulations Dana Adoretti
“Having been born in Massachusetts, I was born a Boston Red Sox fan. It’s in the local culture, and in our blood from birth. I grew up in the 1970s watching Red Sox games on the TV at my grandparent’s home on Sundays with my dad. I got to see Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk and all of the iconic Red Sox players from that era, along with the great Don Zimmer as manager. In the early 1980’s, my mom, my brother, and I moved out west to Colorado, and I never got to see a game in person at Fenway.
Although I lived 2000 miles away from my dad, Dave, we always had the bond of talking baseball with each other. We chatted during our weekly phone calls about Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, and even Bill Buckner after the ball scooted through his legs in the fateful 1986 World Series that was lost to the New York Mets. After the Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004 after an 85-year drought, dad and I talked and cried on the phone afterwards. But again, I only got to see games on TV, listening on the radio, or reading the box scores in the newspaper or the internet. During the ‘80s, the ‘90s and the early 2000s, Fenway Park still eluded me. I continued to dream about seeing the Green Monster in person.
2014 rolled around and my wife, Windy, signed up for a conference in Boston in July. This was my chance! I found out that my friend who cut my hair had a close friend who works for the Sox and could get me tickets, which were great seats right behind the first base dugout. But of course, it is Fenway, and the tickets were expensive. There was no way I was going to miss this chance. So I bought three overpriced tickets for July 5th, and invited Dave to go with us. July comes around, and the conference we were attending had secured a tour of Fenway Park, and tickets to a game, the day before my tickets to the game. Windy and I got to tour the park, look down from up in the new seats above the Monster, and I even asked the tour guide if it was ok for me to cry during the tour. It was my dream finally coming true. Even though we got to tour the park and see my first in-person game at Fenway, watching a live game with my dad was the ultimate dream.
We got there early, enjoyed a beer at a local pub, experienced the party out on Yawkey Way ahead of the game, and then headed into the park. Sitting in my seat between my dad and my wife, eating a hot dog and drinking a beer, my dream was finally realized. We overpaid for beers, hotdogs, and souvenirs, and we got to complain about how bad the Sox were beat by the Baltimore Orioles 7-4. But we also got to talk about David “Big Papi” Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and the rookie Mookie Betts.
I finally got to experience the sights, the smells, the tastes, and the history of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park. And I got to do it all with Dave, my dad.”
- Dana Adoretti
The Custom Design
Once Dave’s entry was voted on as the winner, I thought of how best I could incorporate the story into the design. The first thing that stood out was the date of the game, I figured sharing the old school scoreboard with the team abbreviations and date of the game would serve as a permanent reminder of that day. Additionally, I have always loved the Ted Williams statue outside of Fenway Park as it serves as a visual representation of man passing down the love of sport to a child, I used this to balance the recreation of Dana and Dave Adoretti in the bottom right.
Printed along the bottom edge of the canvas are words pulled directly from the entry: “I finally got to experience the sights, the smells, the tastes, and the history of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park. And I got to do it all with Dave, my dad.”
"I finally got to experience the sights, the smells, the tastes, and the history of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park. And I got to do it all with Dave, my dad."
Bittersweet News Regarding Dave Adoretti
The winning canvas design was shipped out to Dave’s address in Sterling, Massachusetts and arrived on Friday. Sadly, Dave Adoretti passed away Thursday evening June 17th, 2021. Although Dave never got to see the final creation based on his son’s memory, I am sure he knew how important that day was to Dana and I offer the Adoretti family my condolences.
