Since it was published on March 1, Dr. Asitha Jayawardena’s Star Tribune opinion piece, which was addressed to Iowa Hawkeyes basketball star Caitlin Clark, has gone viral. This is him with his 5-year-old daughter at the Iowa-Minnesota game on February 28.
Asitha Jayawardena simply wanted to send a word of gratitude.
But the pediatric surgeon never imagined that a straightforward thank-you note to Iowa Hawkeyes basketball star Caitlin Clark would garner as much attention as it did. Jayawardena does not work as a writer. He only intended to convey to Clark that observing her on the court was like to finding a parental video game cheat code.
“This is somewhat beyond my purview,” Jayawardena remarked during an interview.
“Dear Caitlin Clark,” his Star Tribune opinion article, went viral very quickly. Writing the message, Jayawardena—a hospital employee at Children’s Minnesota—thought he could tear it out of the newspaper and save it as a memento. Rather, he’s been flooded with requests for interviews; over the course of the next week, he has approximately six scheduled with both national and local media.
Other fathers have also approached Jayawardena to talk about their difficulties establishing rapport with their daughters.
And it’s all because to a 723-word letter he sent to one of the biggest names in contemporary sports, expressing gratitude for facilitating Jayawardena’s communication with his 5-year-old.
The record-breaking athlete sparked his daughter’s obsession with him last year when she and her two girls, along with their parents, went to a Big Ten conference tournament game in Minneapolis. He learned a long time ago that frosting and cinnamon buns are the way to his three-year-old’s heart. On their father-daughter outings, they search the subway for the prettiest candies.
Cracking Jayawardena’s elder daughter proved to be more difficult. And he wasn’t exactly counting on either girl to remain still while they were at Williams Arena. He claimed that taking his girls, who were 2 and 4, felt like a gamble. However, the 4-year-old was mesmerized by Clark’s court performance.
She and her father would applaud each time the Hawkeyes had a spectacular play.
“It’s imperative that I maintain this relationship,” Jayawardena remembered thinking.
So he began a fresh series of father-daughter dates, centered around Iowa women’s basketball this time. Jayawardena watched the sports with his daughter. In addition, he would see to it that they heard part of the post-match analysis. Jayawardena’s daughter realized she and her father weren’t the only ones who believed Clark was exceptional when analysts and other athletes beamingly entered their living room proclaimed Clark one of the best college basketball players of all time. As a living legend, Clark was.
Jayawardena added, “She could see it transcended the relationship we had.”
Jayawardena had a childhood admiration in Michael Jordan.
He remembered using a cheat code to turn any character become “fire” while playing “NBA Jam” on the Nintendo 64. This meant that, regardless of distance, their shots nearly invariably fell into the net. According to Jayawardena, no one can make those baskets in the real world.
However, Clark seems to be able to. Jayawardena is reminded of his time spent both electronically and in real life imitating his favorite players when he sees her on the court. These days, his daughter and her pals follow suit, but as the whole Iowa Hawkeyes basketball team.
Jayawardena was appreciative that he had discovered a strong means of connecting with his elder daughter.
This weekend, the Hawkeyes are playing in the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament at Target Center, and even the 3-year-old is excited to see Clark play hoops.
When it comes to advise for other fathers on how to interact with their children, Jayawardena stated that listening is essential.
He remarked, “I wish there was a manual.” “Every kid is different.”
Fathers and daughters: Have there been any recent examples of how sports may strengthen family ties, such as when professional women’s hockey returns, Caitlin Clark breaks records, or Taylor Swift attends NFL games? We’re curious to know!
