Is That a TARDIS?

I wanted to share a conversation I had recently at my daughter's soccer game. I've been going to these games for about three years now, and it's just a small house league put on by one of the parents at the school (he's a British guy who was a footballer back home, I believe), and all the other parents bring their little ones who are all in the same class, and they play. Or, in the case of most of the girls, stare at the clouds, pick some grass, and stand in the middle of the field twirling their hair and talking about the latest One Direction song while the ball whizzes past them on the field. One thing I've never done while standing on the sidelines is talk about TV. I know, I know, it sounds strange, but none of the parents seemed to swing that way, if you know what I mean. I tried it out a few times, and always got that blank look, followed by, "I watch The Daily Show, do you watch that?" And that's about it.

So I was talking to one of the dads last week about our new home (we moved last week... I'll post soon on that). I started talking about what I loved most about it, and then all of a sudden he said, "Is that a TARDIS?" I stopped, and thought about it, and said, "It's funny you should ask, because the first time we walked into the house during an open house I said to my husband, 'Oh my god, it's bigger on the inside. It's a freakin' TARDIS!!' and maybe that's why..."

"No," he said, smiling. "I feel kind of weird doing this, but..." he pointed to my chest area "is that a TARDIS on your t-shirt?" I looked down. Oh. Right. I was wearing my Doctor Whoville shirt:

(Also, I thought about the conversation in retrospect, and thought it was hilarious that I mistook, "Is your house a TARDIS?" as a normal train of conversation, rather than immediately being surprised that he used a geek reference. I'd momentarily forgotten I wasn't with my people.)

I love this shirt, but I'd completely forgotten I was wearing it. "Sorry," he added. "I felt weird pointing at your boobs so I was trying to ask the question without doing so." So I said yes, it was a TARDIS and that these were all the Doctors imagined drawn by Dr. Seuss. "Oh my god, you're a Doctor Who fan?!" he said. I explained I loved Doctor Who, but can't exactly call myself a true Whovian because I haven't watched the Classic episodes, but I love the new version. Then another dad jumped in and said, "Wow, have there really been that many Doctors?? Who knew?" Another one looked over and said he watched the new series, too, and loved it. "That guy? That one from the movies? Uh... what's his name, he was in the indie movies? He was my favourite."

"Christopher Eccleston?" I said.

"I think that's his name. When they brought in that second guy, you know, the one with the hair, I didn't like him. But there's a new guy, apparently, who is quite good."

"Oh my god," says Dad #1, pointing at the shirt again, "Sorry, I just keep pointing, but K-9 is on there, you guys remember K-9?? This shirt is awesome. Is it on purpose that you're making us all stare at your chest."

"It's a bit of a hazard," I admitted.

Finally one of the moms turns around, "I remember watching it when I was a kid. I liked the guy with the hat? He wore a hat."

"Tom Baker?" I said.

"I don't know his name. But he wore a hat."

"Did he wear a scarf?"

"YES! The scarf! He wore a scarf, too. That's the one."

"Yep, that's Tom Baker."

Dad #2: "Didn't the show go off the air or something? I don't remember it in the 90s much. Just the 80s. I watched Baker, too."

And from there we talked about more Doctor Who, Arrested Development, Ren & Stimpy, The Wire, Breaking Bad.... How is it that this was the last soccer game before I move, and NOW I discover this little alcove of dads in the corner who watches cool TV??

At the very end, Dad #1 threw his arm around my shoulders, and said, "You know, despite the boobs, you are totally one of the guys." I took that as a compliment, and decided not to start in on how girls can be geeks, too. I just decided to enjoy the moment.

Note to self: Wear Doctor Who shirt to the FIRST soccer game of the year from now on...