Crazy, funny, and hilarious. These are only a couple of the words that I have heard people use when describing my dad. Don’t get me wrong, because he is all those things; all those things and so much more. There are aspects of Scott Hastings that are lost on the Colorado public. I have lived my 20 years knowing and learning from my father. I pray everyday that I become half the person that he is. Beyond his obvious comedic relief he also exudes passion and inspiration.
Passion can be defined as boundless enthusiasm. I believe that in order to get all you can out of life, everyone should have something they are passionate about. For Scott Hastings that passion always has and always will be basketball. Whether it be playing, coaching, or simply talking about the game his face lights up with a fire of knowledge and loving. Living around such a basketball-obsessed person all my life, it inevitably rubbed off a little, but to compare my fondness of the sport with my father’s is sinful. If I can wish for one thing in this world, it would be that my dad be allowed to live his life forever through basketball. Most of you reading this have probably at one time or another listened or watched my dad. But if you haven’t had the opportunity to see him around the sport he loves then you cannot possibly know him at all.
To say that my father is an inspiration to me is an understatement. His strength has forced him to succeed in everything he has tried; especially when others had their doubts. Growing up he placed all his hopes and dreams into basketball and used it as his tool to get an education and make a living. Through an amazingly long run in the NBA (11 years) he continually worked hard and proved his worth as a player and later a mentor for the younger guys. I have been used as the excuse for the decrease in playing minutes during his career (he had to fly home and miss a game when I was born and didn’t play as much from that day on) but I think just being around the game for so long was all he could have ever asked for. Now that he has succeeded in such platforms as television, radio and coaching, I realize that there truly is nothing that he cannot do if he puts his mind to it. This is something that I hope everyone can learn from my dad because I know that I have.
If you get nothing from this article but a loving daughter’s perspective, then that is absolutely fine by me. But I hope that some will come to realize the depth and strength that is Scott Hastings. Yes, he is hilarious, and to put an end to the number one question I get from his fans, "Is he like this at home?" yes he is; but there is so much more he has to offer that I value higher than his incredible sense of humor. Without the passion and inspiration that I have witnessed from my father I wouldn’t be who I am today and I hope to continue in his incredibly huge footsteps. To have an impact on someone else’s life as he did on mine is something that I will continually strive for in my own life.
