Friends are often described as the family you get to choose. There are many different types of friends and many different definitions of friendship. No matter how you determine what constitutes a friendship, I think it is pretty safe to say that if you have a friend that you can depend upon you should consider yourself lucky.
Dove Men+Care recently launched a new campaign championing men’s friendships. It’s no coincidence that this coincided with the beginning of March Madness. According to their research two thirds of men bond over sports or fitness. And as the big dance dwindles down from 64 teams to its final two dance partners, it is important to take the opportunity to reflect upon these bonds that men have, and cherish, even if 74% of men believe that pop culture doesn’t give as much attention to the support and care involved in these relationships (according to DM+C research). And, also according to DM+C research and statistics, 84% of men say they would drop everything to go care for a friend in need.
And these aren’t just numbers. I’ve seen this happen in our community. Men do care and rely on these relationships. Real strength is recognizing the importance of these bonds.
These relationships are important – as seen in the relationship between UConn Head Coach Kevin Ollie and former Head Coach Jim Calhoun. I also know it from personal experience through the relationships that I have developed at Dad 2.0, and many other dads have developed through groups like Life of Dad or the extensive collection of City Dads Groups throughout the country. Dove Men+Care has done a great deal to help foster these relationships by encouraging dads to get together via meetups and even trips to tournament games. It’s been refreshing watching dads across the country and get together and bond over hoops during tournament time.
I am also personally thankful that DM+C was kind enough to send me and two friends to Lousiville to check out the game between Kansas and Villanova. It was a fun road trip and even though I was pulling for Kansas (my bracket was at stake!), it was an exciting game to watch.
While the tournament may be ending, these bonds of friendship amongst dads around the country are continuing to grow. Thank you Dove Men+ Care for recognizing this and for supporting men and dads across the country.
Disclosure: Though I did receive free tickets and a meal card for the NCAA game, I was not compensated for this post. As always, I am appreciative of Dove Men+Care’s commitment to supporting the dad community and happily share their campaign and generous efforts to strengthen the bonds of family and friendships.