Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
August 3, 2007, Washington Post

Finding a Line to the Stars

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday, dear Fred. Happy birthday to me.

That's right, today is my birthday. It's also the birthday of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Yes, Brady is younger, richer and more famous. He can throw a football more than 70 yards and has three Super Bowl rings. But we have at least one thing in common: Both of us were born on Aug. 3.

It's cool to share a birthday with a famous athlete. And it's easy to find out if you do. The Web site http://www.famousbirthdays.com is one place to look.

I checked my kids' birthdays there. My daughter, Kerry, hit the jackpot. She shares her Jan. 17 birthday with basketball superstar Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

My son, Liam, has the same birthday (Feb. 4) as boxer Oscar De La Hoya and former NFL great Lawrence Taylor. If Liam had waited one more day to be born, he would have shared his birthday with baseball legend Henry Aaron.

Who knows, you or somebody you know might share a birthday with sports legends such as Michael Jordan (Feb. 17), tennis star Venus Williams (June 17) or Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr. (Aug. 24).

Or maybe your birthday matches up with a local athlete such as the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas (Jan. 6), the Mystics' Alana Beard (May 14) or the Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman (Sept. 28).

Tiger Woods and LeBron James share the same day -- Dec. 30. Those guys did pretty well for having late birthdays.

For kids who play sports, birthdays mean more than parties and presents. Your birthday could determine what baseball, soccer or basketball league you play in.

Growing up, I thought Aug. 3 was the best birthday because Aug. 1 was the cutoff for Little League baseball. Your playing age for the year was set according to how old you were at midnight July 31. If I had been born a few days earlier, I would have been a whole year older in Little League.

That year's difference can be a big deal for a kid.

Birthdays are fun, and sharing yours with a sports star adds to the fun. So if Tom Brady decides to leave the Patriots' training camp and drop by my house for cake and ice cream tonight, I'll sing another birthday song for him. You know, that old Beatles tune that goes . . .

You say it's your birthday. It's my birthday too, yeah!

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

© 2007 The Washington Post Company