I am taking a quick break from fantasy baseball, the NBA Playoffs, and NFL Draft rumination to announce a Mothers Day contest beginning immediately: The MSF Coolest Sports Mom Ever Contest.

We’ll be accepting nominations (details below) up until the Friday before Mother’s Day (May 8th), with the winner to be announced on Sunday, May 10th. Then, that following week, the winning mom (a.k.a. the coolest sports mom ever) will be receiving a bouquet of flowers courtesy of MSF, along with a headlining post highlighting the qualities that made her the winner.

Before I talk about my own mom a little bit, and then give you the official Mothers Days contest details, I do want to pass along a few Mothers Day gift ideas and deals from the de facto sponsors of the The MSF Coolest Sports Mom Ever Contest. If you’re still wondering what to get your mom for Mother’s Day, perhaps the links below can help. (And we thank each of these companies for allowing us to bring these offers your way.)

All moms deserve flowers on Mother’s Day. When are you ordering yours?

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Is your mom a golfer? Hook her up with some new equipment and accessories.

Save 10% on all orders $250 and up at InTheHoleGolf.com. (Use code: 10OFF)

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How about a gift that you and dad can enjoy too?

Give the Gift of Sports Weekly for as low as $0.67/issue

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Or, why not give the best gift possible: a surprise trip home for Mothers Day!

Save up to $150 with Flight + Rental Car package from Priceline

Last minute travel deals and vacation packages at Expedia.com

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Mothers Day Contest

Now back to the Mothers Day Contest.

The way I see it, dads always get lots of recognition for their sports influence, and rightfully so — and, in fact, we’ll be doing another contest come Father’s Day — but the influence that moms have on young athletes and sports fans should not go unnoticed, unrecognized, or uncelebrated. For example, while my dad was always the one who would go out and shoot hoops with me, or throw batting practice, or take me to QB camps when I was young, it was Mom who really showed me what being a passionate and dedicated sports fan was all about.

There were her stories of going to Dolphins games back in the glory days of the early 19XX’s (out of respect and fear for my life if I do otherwise, dates have been redacted so as not to give away any age information) to cheer on her favorite player: Mercury Morris. And there was her superstitious insistence on wearing the same earrings or socks or other accessory if the Dolphins were winning and playing well, something I do to this day.

There was her complete and unyielding support for whatever team my dad was coaching, as well as her constant support and attendance at every single athletic event I ever participated in.

There was her willingness and desire to always plan weekend duties and meals around whatever major sporting events were going on, plus her understanding that unless it was a matter of life and death, nothing came before IU basketball games.

Plus, and this is perhaps her greatest contribution to my life as a sports fans, she gave up her season ticket to IU basketball games so I could go to every game with my dad and become the IU fanatic I am today. (Bob Knight grabbing then-IU freshman Delray Brooks by the jersey might have had something do with that one, but it’s neither here nor there.)

So, I will leave my own mom out of the running, because I’m not sure anyone else’s would stand a chance. But I want to read as many stories as possible about your moms, or moms that may not be your own but that you would like to submit, before we ultimately settle on the official MSF Coolest Sports Mom Ever.

So over the next few weeks, leading up to Mothers Day on May 10th, we will be in search of the coolest sports mom out there. I am leaving the criteria and description relatively vague specifically because I do not want to discourage anyone from submitting a nomination.

Here are your rules for The MSF Coolest Sports Mom Ever Contest.

1. The deadline for nominations is Friday, March 8th, at 12:00 PM Central Time.
2. Email your nomination to jerod [ at ] midwestsportsfans.com or use our contact form.
3. Your nomination prompt is simple: tell us why your mom is the coolest sports mom ever. Whatever that means to you, whatever the reasoning, and however in-depth you want to get. Take it and run with it. Obviously the more detailed and compelling your entry, the better your sports mom nominee’s chance of being considered the coolest.
4. Understand that anything you write in your nomination can and probably will be reposted here at Midwest Sports Fans. Even if your entry isn’t chosen as the winner, we’ll be posting excerpts of the most compelling and interesting stories.
5. If your nomination wins, please be prepared to send us a picture we can use when the winner is announced as well as an address to where we can send the flowers, which will be sent in your name courtesy of MSF.
6. We have not decided specifically how the winner will be chosen. It will all depend on how many entries we get and how soon. If we get enough entries in the next ten or so days, we will post the best stories and allow readers to vote on the winner. If entries are not that plentiful, or if they all come rushing in before the deadline, the Mothers Day contest winner will be chosen by our editorial staff.
7. If you have questions (unless they are somehow personal in nature), ask them in the comments section. That way I can reply and it will answer the question for anyone else who may have it.

I think that about covers it. I’ll update this post if I can think of anything later. Now, go get busy writing your nominations.