Woe is me.

On this Mother's Day, here's a shout out to Pat Reau for taking me to men's and women's basketball games at the University of Toledo, for buying me a green satin Toledo Goaldiggers "Eruzione" jacket and for taking me to see the San Diego Chicken at a Mud Hens game.

Early on, she gave up on her only child and let me be the Tom Boy that I am. I now know the sacrifices she made to send me to basketball camps all over the midwest, sitting in the gym parking lot to chauffeur me and buying me my first and only Rawlings mitt (telling me the "R" was for Reau). Thanks, mom!

The key to rearing sports fan is simple: make mom happy. If mom likes to go, the whole family will go. Why don't more teams market directly to moms in a strategic way and not just on Mother's Day or Ladies Day. Ask mom what she needs to make the decision to buy the tickets. Is it cost-related, events take too much time, parking is hard? Find out the answers by asking. I recommend an online community such as cincymoms.com as a great resource to pose questions to moms in a comfortable place--their place.

For one client, we created a mom's advisory board using cincymoms.com. We asked for feedback on a new waterpark. Believe me, they aren't shy! We also use them as ambassadors to forward promotions and perks to their social circles.

So, make Mother's Day, every day!